Madrid, April 26
The World No.3 Carlos Alcaraz produced a dominant performance to begin his quest for a third consecutive Madrid Open title with a 6-2, 6-1 victory against Kazakh Alexander Shevchenko.
Alcaraz next will lock horns with Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild, who defeated 28th seed Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 6-4 on Friday.
"I think I did pretty well honestly. The last month I just practised slices, volleys and backhands, so I think it worked pretty well today. That was something I was thinking about approaching this match, trying to hit the forehand softer let's say and trying to be aggressive with the backhand, trying to crash the net as soon as possible. I think I did a really good match in that part," Alcaraz said as quoted by ATP.
When Shevchenko serves, the World No. 3 in the ATP Rankings alternates his return stance, frequently choosing to stand far back before advancing to a more aggressive baseline position during rallies. Alcaraz attacked the ball with unrestricted movement, hitting 24 winners to Shevchenko's two, and altered tempo fast with nimble drop shots.
Despite having a double-break lead in both sets, Shevchenko was unable to stop Alcaraz from winning in one hour and eight minutes.
When asked if his right arm was bothering him throughout the match, Alcaraz said, "Not at all, but I'm thinking about it. It's not going to leave my mind I think... Coming into this week, I've been doing good things in practice, hitting harder, but I'm not feeling comfortable playing my forehand 100 per cent. But I think playing at this level, I'm really happy to do it. I think I can be competitive."