After a first round in which he struggled more than expected against Bosnian veteran Damir Dzumhur, Carlos Alcaraz has definitely raised his level in his last two matches at the Cincinnati Masters 1000. The world number 2 who knows the importance of this tournament also in the race for the first position in the ATP rankings defeated the young Italian star Luca Nardi in the round of 16 thanks to a solid and concrete performance.
The 22-year-old Spaniard always needs some time to hone all his automatisms and confided that he is satisfied with his progression, considering that this is his first tournament since the Wimbledon Championships final lost to his top rival Jannik Sinner last month.
Despite having the desire to return to being the world number 1, the star from Murcia decided to take a break after the third Major of the season and missed the Toronto Masters 1000, where he had no points to defend having given up this tournament last season as well. Carlitos had stopped in the second round in both Cincinnati and the US Open last year, which is why he has a chance to gain points on Sinner who had lifted both of these trophies twelve months ago.
ADVERTISEMENT
Alcaraz has reached the quarterfinals in Cincy
During his match against Nardi in the night session in Cincy, the five-time Grand Slam champion had a small dispute with chair umpire Greg Allensworth who had asked him to cover the logo on his water bottles.
Weve been told because of the logos and the sponsors - Allensworth told Alcaraz. The Spaniard replied: It wasnt my fault, it wasnt my fault. Why should we cover this (points to water bottle), because it wasnt my fault. So because of your fault I have to cover ityou know it doesnt work like this. It was your fault, its always your fault and then I have to pay for that because of your faultIm not going to cover it.
The former World No.1 will face Andrey Rublev for a place in the semifinals.
