Italian International: Alcaraz 'passes test' in Rome opener, Passaro upsets Dimitrov

Rome, May 9 Former World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz recorded a Tour-leading 25th win of the season on Friday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, where he returned from injury with a 6-3, 6-3 victory against Dusan Lajovic.

In other action on Friday, Daniil Medvedev, seeded 10th, defeated Cameron Norrie in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2; eighth-seeded Italian Lorenzo Musetti outplayed qualifier Otto Virtanen of Finland 6-3, 6-2; Frenchman Arthur Fils made quick work of Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherland 6-2, 6-2 while 18th seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece beat Alexandre Muller of France 6-2, 7-6(3).

In the biggest upset of the opening round, the Italian wild card Francesco Passaro stunned 14th seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 7-5, 6-3 in a one-hour, 44-minute match.

However, the focus was on Alcaraz, and he did not disappoint his fans. The Spaniard, who missed the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid last month due to an adductor injury, played with a precautionary knee wrap during his opening match in Rome against Lajovic.

22-year-old Alcaraz, ranked third in the ATP Rankings, moved freely on Campo Centrale and outclassed his Serbian opponent with a combination of power and touch.

"The body is feeling great," said Alcaraz, who celebrated his birthday on Monday. "I moved well and made a few good sprints today without any pain and that is great. It was a test for me and I think I passed the test. I tried to feel more comfortable on the court. Moving and not thinking about the injury," he was quoted as saying by ATP Tour on Friday.

Alcaraz struck 20 winners in his 82-minute win and now leads Lajovic 5-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. He will next meet Laslo Djere after the Serbian beat Estoril champion Alex Michelsen 6-0, 6-3.

The third seed is chasing his third trophy of the year and second at the Masters 1000 level, having triumphed on clay in Monte-Carlo.

Alcaraz, who did not compete in Rome last year due to injury, is first in the ATP Live Race To Turin and will aim to maintain his advantage over second-placed Jack Draper and third-placed Alexander Zverev with a deep run in Italy.

The wild card was impressive behind his first serve, winning 83 per cent of points according to Infosys ATP Stats, while he rallied from a break down in the first set to the delight of the home crowd. After improving to 4-0 against Top 30 players, Passaro will next play Karen Khachanov, who beat Roman Andres Burruchaga 6-4, 5-7, 6-1.

Fils, who had few issues in his Rome opener, dispatched Tallon Griekspoor 6-2, 6-2 to reach the third round in Rome for the first time. The Frenchman, who leads Griekspoor 3-1 in the pair’s ATP head-to-head series, will next face Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Tsitsipas downed Alexandre Muller 6-2, 7-6(3) to reach the third round. The Greek, who has reached the quarter-finals in five of his past seven Rome appearances, has won 14 of his past 15 matches against players outside the Top 20 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

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