Unlike his top rival Jannik Sinner who will play his first match at the Cincinnati Masters 1000 today Carlos Alcaraz will make his Ohio debut tomorrow. His first opponent in the last huge tournament before the US Open will be Bosnian veteran Damir Dzumhur, who defeated Italian star Mattia Bellucci in the first round thanks to two tiebreaks.
The world number 2 will have to put in a good performance if he wants to avoid a premature elimination in this tournament as had already happened in the last edition, when he was surprised by the French veteran Gael Monfils and also broke a racket during that match.
Dzumhur has a fairly particular game and has already put the young Spanish ace in trouble this year, more precisely at Roland Garros, when he was very close to forcing the fifth set. He was ahead by a break in the fourth set and Carlitos was confused, before having a reaction of pride that allowed him to make the difference and avoid further trouble.
ADVERTISEMENT
Alcaraz will play tomorrow
The five-time Grand Slam champion who has not played an official match on the professional tour since the final of the Wimbledon Championships knows well that the Cincinnati Open and the US Open are two truly fundamental tournaments if he wants to try to overtake Sinner in the ATP rankings before the end of this season.
The 22-year-old from Murcia has practiced well in the last week and the Cincinnati courts seem slower than last year, a factor that should help Carlos' game (who had complained a lot last year).
Alcaraz's season has been very brilliant so far, considering that he has already won five titles and also taken away the satisfaction of winning his second Roland Garros in a row at the end of a truly epic final. The Spaniard failed to do the same at Wimbledon a month ago, but it was inevitable that he would have to lose a Grand Slam final sooner or later.
