Alcaraz sends clear message to Djokovic as world No 111 makes him sweat

Jul 22, 2023 at 5:09 PM
Alcaraz sends clear message to Djokovic as world No 111 makes him sweat

made an actual assertion by returning to motion simply 5 days after defeating to raise his first title. The Spaniard beat world No 111 David Goffin in a Hopman Cup conflict on Friday however it did not come simply.

The Belgian took Alcaraz to a few units and 106 minutes of play as he put up an honest battle earlier than finally being toppled by the world No 1 4-6, 6-4, 10-8. It definitely wasn’t the smoothest transition again to clay following his successes on the grass-court Grand Slam.

The 20-year-old dropped his serve twice to give up the opening set to Goffin, however responded nicely and levelled the scores within the second earlier than clawing his approach again from a 0-4 deficit to win the tie-break 10-8.

“It wasn’t easy, it was a tough match but I’m really happy to come back to clay courts,” admitted Alcaraz within the speedy aftermath. “It’s a good surface for me and I really enjoyed playing tennis here.

“I felt the vitality and the love from the folks.” Alcaraz is expected to be back in action at the Canadian Open on August 7 and is hoping to string together a solid run in the lead-up to the at the end of next month.

During his post-match press conference at the Hopman Cup, Alcaraz expressed his desire to win the Toronto Masters and Cincinnati Masters, before defending his US Open title. “My focus is on the Toronto Masters 1000, which is one of the most important in the category,” he stated.

“Whenever I go to a tournament I do it with the thought that I can win, with the certainty that I can win, so this summer I will play that tournament in Toronto and also the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati. Although, obviously, the main objective is always the US Open, although the ideal is to go game by game.”

Alcaraz defeated Casper Rudd final yr to select up his first Grand Slam title on the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre in New York. Djokovic was unable to play on the event because of the vaccination necessities in place to enter the United States however is anticipated to take to the courtroom this yr after the nation lifted its vaccine mandate on worldwide travellers in May.