While Jannik Sinner van Wereld Nr.
The second seed was pushed the distance by World No. 56 Damir Dzumhur, who eventually ruled 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 in a collision that was far from simple after a lightning-fast start.
“It was just a roller coaster,” said Alcaraz. “Many good feelings, bad feelings, back to the good. I can only say that I am happy to win the victory at the end and just have a chance to get better. I will try to have my confidence back tomorrow, because it was a bit tricky today. Damir plays really smart tennis, which I have to become for that.
Alcaraz seemed ready to match the efficiency of his rival sinner and raced through the first set in just 28 minutes. But while the defender Sinner hardly hit Daniel Elahi Galan, Alcaraz was in the second set.
With mistakes that came in and his intensity immersed, the world no. 2 opened the door for a rising Dzumhur, who started to charge the net and to take control of the rallies to the level. Alcaraz crucial in the decision maker, found just enough firepower and precision to stabilize the ship and close the game after an hour and 41 minutes.
The Spaniard has now won its last 12 ATP Masters 1000 matches, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, but will be concerned about his second set decline in his first match at a hard court since his opening round loss in Miami in March. Alcaraz committed 44 casual mistakes against Dzumhur and failed to save one of the three breaking points with which he was confronted.
“Here it is difficult to play such a great tennis,” Alcaraz added. “The ball flies a lot, goes super fast. You have to be ready to be in a good position for every recording and that is really difficult to do. You must know that there will be a few points and games in the game if you will not feel good, so you have to keep the positive thoughts in the right way … It is a relief about winning the victory.”
Alcaraz competed for the first time since he lost to Sinner in the latest Lexus ATP Head2head meeting of the couple in the Wimbledon final. Both have qualified for the Nitto ATP final, Sinner and Alcaraz will compete in an exciting battle for ATP end of the year 1 by PIF presented by PIF during the remaining months of the year. Alcaraz currently has a 1500-point lead over Sinner in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin.
The World No. 2 In the 52-week PIF ATP ranking, Alcaraz has dressed a tour of leading five titles in 2025, including Masters 1000 crowns in Monte-Carlo and Rome. The best result of the 22-year-old in Ohio came in 2023, when he lost in a three-set last thriller against Novak Djokovic. Alcaraz will then meet Tallon Greekspoor or Hamad Medjedovic.
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