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Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz on Friday survived a major scare at the Madrid Open as he rallied past Emil Ruusuvuori 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the third round in the Spanish capital.
The Spaniard defeated Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev en route to the title in Madrid last year, but didn't have things all his way against the clean-hitting Finn in his opening match at this year's event. "It was really tough. I would say I was about to lose. It was just one point. One of the break points he had at 2-3 in the second set was like a match point for him. I was really happy I was able to save that game and come back a bit. It was really tough. Emil played unbelievably, but I am really, really happy to get through that," ATP.com quoted Alcaraz as saying. The 19-year-old fought hard in the second set after dropping the first one, saving all five break points he came up against to tie the match. Alcaraz raised his game in the third set, encouraged by a boisterous home crowd inside Manolo Santana Stadium. After two hours and sixteen minutes, he produced magical moments and triumph by reducing mistakes, making good use of the drop shot, and displaying extraordinary agility. "When I got it to 3-3 in the second set, I thought that this is my chance. I tried to take that. I was really, really focused. I was trying to put every ball in and running for every ball. Playing with a good attitude the whole match, I was able to come back," Alcaraz said. "It was tough for me to get used to the conditions. There is so much altitude here, the ball bounces a lot. I am not going to use excuses. Emil was better than me until 3-3 in the second set. Hitting the ball with no mistakes, serving well with a lot of rhythm and I could not follow his rhythm. It was tough for me to stay with him. But I am happy to come back and finish with a lot of confidence," Alcaraz added. This week, Alcaraz is vying for his fourth ATP Masters 1000 crown and tenth tour-level victory. He won on clay in Buenos Aires and Barcelona earlier this year, and on hard court in Indian Wells. Elsewhere, Andrey Rublev continued his red-hot clay-court form on Friday at the Madrid Open, where he defeated former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka 7-5, 6-4 to reach the third round. (ANI)
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