Top seed Carlos Alcaraz beat Marin Cilic 6-4 6-4 in a hard-fought match to reach the second round at Qatar Exxon Mobil Open in Doha in tough windy conditions.
Alcaraz has improved to 4-1 in their head-to-head matches.
Alcaraz earned an early break at 30 in the first game, but Cilic broke straight back in the second game to draw level to 1-1. Alcaraz broke for the second time in a 18-minute seventh game to take a 4-3 lead.
The second set went on serve in the first six games. Cilic led 4-3 and 0-40 on Alcaraz’s serve in the eighth game of the second set. Alcaraz reeled off 14 of the next 19 points from 0-40 down as he was serving at 3-4 in the second set and broke serve in the ninth game to extend his winning streak to six consecutive matches.
Alcaraz will face either China’s Zhang Zhizhen or Italy’s Luca Nardi. “I am really pleased about saving that game and giving myself the opportunity to stay alive. Marin puts a lot of pressure when you are serving, he is a great returner. I am really happy to stay calm in that moment, do my routine and make good shots. I am really happy to win in two sets”, said Alcaraz.
