Carlos Alcaraz admitted he struggled mentally and physically during stages of his marathon second round win at the HSBC Championships.
The world No.2 required almost three-and-a-half hours to defeat compatriot Jaume Munar 6-4, 6-7(7), 7-5, in what was an at times frustrating encounter for the five-time Grand Slam champion. Alcaraz had multiple opportunities to seal a straight sets win but failed to convert two match points during the second set tiebreak. Then in the decider, he lost four games in a row to fall behind 2-4 before clawing his way back to draw level. Despite the scare, Alcaraz held his nerve to seal victory by hitting a lob shot that drew a mistake from Munar.
Alcaraz’s roller-coaster triumph featured a total of 49 winners from the top seed. However, he also produced 53 unforced errors with 26 of them coming from his forehand. Overall, he faced 12 break points and saved 10 of them.
“It was a really tough battle that we had today. He’s a great competitor and he showed how difficult it is to beat him,” Alcaraz said during his on-court interview.
“I’m proud of the level I showed today. It’s my second match on grass this year. There were moments when I struggled a lot mentally and physically. I still don’t know how I’m standing here. But I’m really happy I’ve given myself another chance in the quarter-final.”
Battling through marathon matches is nothing new for Alcaraz, who played the longest French Open final of all time against Jannik Sinner earlier this match. That encounter lasted nearly five-and-a-half hours with the 22-year-old battling back from a two-set deficit and saving a trio of match points.
“I just kept fighting. I guess I didn’t give up,” he commented on how he won his latest match against Munar.
“Honestly I was out mentally, but I stayed there and tried to play the points and play my best points from the first set. But I still don’t know.”
Alcaraz has now won 15 Tour-level matches in a row which is the best streak of his career. He has won 18 out of 19 matches played against opponents ranked outside the top 20 on grass with his sole defeat being at Queen’s 12 months ago to Jack Draper, who was ranked No.31 at the time.
Another marathon that took place at the tournament on Thursday saw home player Jacob Fernley beat Corentin Moutet 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, in two hours and 10 minutes to reach his first ATO quarter-final at the age of 23. He will next play Jiri Lehecka who he coincidentally beat in the doubles tournament earlier today alongside Cameron Norrie. Lehecka was partnered with Taylor Fritz.
