Alcaraz Returns To Winning Ways In Marbella
#NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz was impressive on Tuesday in a 7-6(3), 6-3 victory over Serbian qualifier Nikola Milojevic in one hour and 38 minutes at the AnyTech365 Andalucia Open.
The 17-year-old wild card earned his fifth match win of the year, and will now face fellow Spaniard and sixth seed Feliciano Lopez, who turned pro in 1997 - six years before Alcaraz was born. Lopez, 39, knocked out Taro Daniel of Japan 6-4, 6-4 in 87 minutes for a place in the Marbella second round.
[WATCH LIVE 1]
Alcaraz raised his level in the tie-break, clinching the 56-minute opener after Milojevic hit a forehand into the net. Milojevic bounced back immediately, saving three break points en route to a 3-1 advantage, but the 25-year-old’s game soon deserted him.
World No. 133 Alcaraz is now 5-5 on the season, which includes beating David Goffin in the Great Ocean Road Open second round in February. The Spaniard advanced to the Australian Open second round as a qualifier, becoming the youngest player to earn a Grand Slam match win since Thanasi Kokkinakis, also 17, at the 2014 event in Melbourne.
Later today, fifth-seeded Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina takes on Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia-Herzegovina.