Carlos Alcaraz has finally kickstarted his season with a three-set win over Laslo Djere at the Argentina Open.
The world No.3 was sternly tested by the Serbian before prevailing 6-2, 4-6, 6-2. Alcaraz broke Djere twice in the first and third sets but it was in the second where the Spaniard struggled. Eight break point chances came and went for Alcaraz before he dropped serve when down 4-5. Despite the blip, he managed to come out on top with the help of four aces as he won 71% of his service points.
“It’s a great feeling to win again,” the 19-year-old said following the match. “It’s been a long time for me with no competition, with no matches, just recovering. Finally I got my first win of 2023.”
This week is the first time Alcaraz has played on the Tour since last November at the Paris Masters where he was forced to retire from his quarter-final match against Holger Rune due to an abdominal injury. Then during the off-season, he picked up a leg injury which ruled him out of the Australian Open. As a result of his absence, he has lost his No.1 ranking to Novak Djokovic.
In what is his tournament debut at the Argentina Open, Alcaraz has hailed the support he received from the crowd. Until now, he had never played a Tour-level event in the country.
“I’m really happy [in Buenos Aires],” he said. “I didn’t expect such a great crowd, a great atmosphere behind me. So I just can say thank you to all the fans here in Buenos Aires for the warm welcome that I received in this first match and I hope to keep going with this energy.”
Alcaraz is hoping he will be able to reproduce the tennis he displayed during his breakthrough season last year. In 2022, he won five Tour titles, including two Masters 1000 events and his first Grand Slam at the US Open. He is the youngest player in history to reach world No.1 and the youngest to beat Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the same tournament.
Awaiting Alcaraz in the quarter-finals will be qualifier Dusan Lajovic who knocked out sixth seed Sebastian Baez in the first round and then Camilo Ugo Carabelli in the second. It is the third time in Lajovic’s career that he has reached the last eight in Buenos Aires.
In other matches, second seed Cameron Norrie overcame a massive scare against world No.191 Facundo Diaz Acosta. Coming back from a set down, the Brit battled to a 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(6), victory after three hours of play. He will next play Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
