Carlos Alcaraz made a triumphant return to the world’s pinnacle on Saturday, dispatching compatriot Albert Ramos-Vinolas with ease in his inaugural look on the Italian Open amid the unlucky truncation of play on account of inclement rainfall.
In-form Alcaraz ensured the highest spot by taking to the court docket to play his second-round match in Rome as he seeks a 3rd straight match win.
The 20-year-old, who noticed off Ramos-Vinolas 6-4, 6-1, will overtake Novak Djokovic as world No. 1 and is assured of the highest seeding on the French Open later this month.
He got here by way of in a match that began a number of hours late as a result of pelting rain which drenched the Italian capital.
“The conditions here weren’t easy, the rain, the waiting all day, not knowing if I would play. It was tough,” stated Alcaraz.
He added, “For me, it doesn’t change too much to be No. 1 or 2 seed. I focus on the tournament and my game.”
The Spaniard turned the youngest-ever world No. 1 because of his United States Open triumph final September, with Djokovic denied entry to the U.S. due to his COVID-19 vaccination standing.
Alcaraz will start his twenty third week at world No. 1 on May 22.
The second seed arrived within the Italian capital on a positive run after back-to-back clay court docket titles in Barcelona and Madrid, and he made brief work of Ramos-Vinolas.
He took management of the match in what turned out to be the ultimate recreation of the primary set, breaking Ramos-Vinolas to take the lead in what had been a hard-fought match as much as that time.
From there, Alcaraz went by way of the gears, unleashing an unlimited repertoire of photographs that left Ramos-Vinolas deceived and arrange a third-round conflict with both Jiri Lehecka or Fabian Marozsan.
Fifth-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas was set to affix Alcaraz within the third spherical as he led Portugal’s Nuno Borges 6-4, 4-3 when play was halted for the day on account of one other downpour.
The Italian Tennis Federation stated that play would restart at 11 a.m. native time (09.00 GMT) on Sunday, which means Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev have been left ready for his or her opening matches.
Osorio stuns Garcia
Caroline Garcia turned the fourth high 10 participant to be dumped out of the ladies’s match after the world No. 4 misplaced 6-4, 6-4 to outsider Camila Osorio.
Qualifier Osorio virtually broke down in tears after her stunning straight-sets victory in a match that began two hours late and was interrupted for greater than an hour in the beginning of the second set.
The career-best win for world No. 100 Osorio places her within the final 16 of a WTA 1000 occasion for the primary time.
She will face Beatriz Haddad Maia within the subsequent spherical.
“I have no words to describe what I’m feeling right now,” stated Osorio on court docket.
“I’ve been struggling a bit bit with my accidents, and now that I’m again taking part in and beating the No. 4 on the planet, I am unable to imagine it.
“I’m just super happy and proud about how I managed to stay calm and finish the match.”
Garcia joins world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, third-ranked Jessica Pegula, and world No. 7 Ons Jabeur in being dumped out of the match.
World No. 6 Andrey Rublev was one of many few fortunate ones to flee the early rain, defeating Alex Molcan 6-3, 6-4.
Source: www.dailysabah.com
