Alcaraz Defeats Fognini And Advances Rio Open Quarterfinals.

In a thrilling match on Thursday, world number two Carlos Alcaraz defeated Italian Fabio Fognini, who was rated 86th, to progress to the ATP Rio Open quarterfinals.

After dropping the opening set, the 19-year-old Spanish sensation fought back and prevailed 6-7 (5-7), 6-2, 6-4.

“A player like Fabio is faced with a task. After the exciting clay-court match, Alcaraz praised the opponent as “a superb player with a lot of potential.”

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The 35-year-old veteran Fognini, who has won nine singles titles, lost the first set against the reigning champion 3-0 before fighting back with a series of superb rallies.

When the score was tied at 5-5, he broke Alcaraz’s serve to win the set in a tiebreaker.

But Alcaraz roared back in the second, going up 4-0, and carried his momentum through the final set to take the match.
The dramatic display had the crowd at the stadium court fired up.
“You energized both Fabio and me from the start, thank you so much,” Alcaraz told the fans.

“We played a great match. I’m very happy I managed to win.”

Alcaraz will face the winner of an all-Serbian showdown in the quarter-finals Friday: either 57th-ranked Laslo Djere or 80th-ranked Dusan Lajovic.

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Alcaraz, who returned last week from a four-month injury break, is looking to rekindle the magic he unleashed last year in Brazil.

Then, he won the Rio Open on his way to racking up five titles, including the US Open, and becoming the youngest-ever world number one in the ATP rankings — a spot he has now lost to Novak Djokovic after struggling with injuries.

Alcaraz opened his title defence in Rio by winning a tougher-than-expected, rain-delayed match against 556th-ranked Mateus Alves of Brazil Wednesday.
He made his 2023 debut last week by winning his seventh career ATP title at the Argentina Open.

AFP

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