Rotterdam, Feb 5 Top seed Carlos Alcaraz avenges his loss to Van De Zandschulp last year at the US Open with a hard-fought victory at the Rotterdam Open on Wednesday (IST).
The Spaniard was put through his paces, but prevailed 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-1 against Dutch wildcard Zandschulp to advance to the second round at the indoor hard-court ATP 500.
Alcaraz, who was stunned by the Dutchman in the second round at the US Open last year, struggled to find his range throughout the testing clash. Yet the 21-year-old regained his composure to motor through a dominant final set and seal a two-hour, 33-minute victory, ATP reports.
Despite boasting 16 tour-level titles, Alcaraz is yet to reach a championship match indoors. He will next play against qualifier Andrea Vavassori or two-time titlist in 2025, Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round.
There was also something physical hindering Alcaraz, who arrived in Rotterdam with a cold and played with a piece of tape on his nose to breathe more easily. "I don't feel 100 per cent yet. I'll need a few more days for that. But the key was to stay mentally strong. And luckily that worked. It was also a great match for the fans in that sense,” said the Spaniard.
On the other hand, Holger Rune advanced to the Rotterdam second round for the third consecutive year after defeating recent Australian Open quarter-finalist Lorenzo Sonego 7-6(4), 6-4 in two hours, 11 minutes.
The fifth seed collected his 44th indoor win since the start of the 2022 season, second only to Felix Auger-Aliassime's 53. The 2022 Paris Masters champion next faces Spain's Pedro Martinez and will attempt to improve his break point conversion rate, which was 2/13 against Sonego, according to ATP Stats.
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