Spoiler:
Spaniard books quarter-final meeting with Bagnis in Croatia
The pressure of playing as defending champion appears to suit Carlos Alcaraz.
A year ago, the #NextGenATP Spaniard lifted his maiden ATP Tour title at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag. On Thursday, Alcaraz raced past Norbert Gombos 6-2, 6-3 on his return to the clay-court ATP 250 event in Croatia.
Since defeating Richard Gasquet for the title in Umag last year, Alcaraz has added four further tour-level titles to his tally, including ATP Masters 1000 crowns at the Miami Open presented by Itau and the Mutua Madrid Open, and risen to a career-high No. 5 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
Despite tasting defeat in an ATP Tour final for the first time on Sunday, when he fell to Lorenzo Musetti in a thrilling three-set championship match at the Hamburg European Open, Alcaraz bounced back in style against Gombos. The top seed showcased his typical variety to move his opponent around the court, striking cleanly from deep and using his drop shot to good effect en route to a clinical one-hour, 38-minute victory.
The win improved Alcaraz’s record on clay in 2022 to 25-3. His quarter-final challenger in Umag will be Facundo Bagnis, who earlier eased to a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 win against Corentin Moutet.
More to follow…
The pressure of playing as defending champion appears to suit Carlos Alcaraz.
A year ago, the #NextGenATP Spaniard lifted his maiden ATP Tour title at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag. On Thursday, Alcaraz raced past Norbert Gombos 6-2, 6-3 on his return to the clay-court ATP 250 event in Croatia.
Since defeating Richard Gasquet for the title in Umag last year, Alcaraz has added four further tour-level titles to his tally, including ATP Masters 1000 crowns at the Miami Open presented by Itau and the Mutua Madrid Open, and risen to a career-high No. 5 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
Despite tasting defeat in an ATP Tour final for the first time on Sunday, when he fell to Lorenzo Musetti in a thrilling three-set championship match at the Hamburg European Open, Alcaraz bounced back in style against Gombos. The top seed showcased his typical variety to move his opponent around the court, striking cleanly from deep and using his drop shot to good effect en route to a clinical one-hour, 38-minute victory.
The win improved Alcaraz’s record on clay in 2022 to 25-3. His quarter-final challenger in Umag will be Facundo Bagnis, who earlier eased to a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 win against Corentin Moutet.
More to follow…
