Carlos Alcaraz overcame a second set resurgence from Francisco Cerundolo to defeat the Argentinian 6-1 7-5 at Queen’s Club.
The Spaniard came back from 5-2 down to win five games in a row against the Argentinian to begin his Queen’s Club title defence with a victory.
Now the recent Roland Garros champion could play Stuttgart champion Jack Draper in the second round.
A week in Ibiza didn’t hinder Alcaraz’s level of tennis as the Spaniard came out firing to start the match.
The mixture of power, depth and variety was too strong for Cerundolo as some stunning shot-making saw Alcaraz race to a 5-0 lead.
An ironic cheer went out for Cerundolo as the Argentinian edged towards his first game of the match before Alcaraz completed the opening set in 30 minutes.
However Cerundolo is not an opponent to be messed with having taken a two sets to one lead over Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros.
There was evidence of his grit and power in the second set as he powered to a 3-0 lead against a helpless Alcaraz.
As the set went on, Alcaraz gradually grew in confidence as he used his full repertoire of shots to open up space on the court.
Cerundolo managed to keep up the pressure as the Argentinian built a 5-2 lead.
That didn’t last for long as the Argentinian got tight and passive when serving for the set.
This allowed Alcaraz to play with freedom and power as he cruised to five games in a row and secure a win to start his title defence.
Next for Alcaraz will be either Jack Draper or Mariano Navone, who are last on Centre Court.
