Alcaraz Pushes Past Jordan Thompson Hurdle, Moves Forward in Cincinnati Open

Carlos Alcaraz managed to secure a victory in a challenging match against Jordan Thompson at the Cincinnati Open.

The 2-time Grand Slam champion is participating in his second Masters 1000 (Western & Southern Open) event as part of his preparation to defend his US Open title. Last week in Canada, Alcaraz experienced a quarterfinal loss against Tommy Paul, which marked the end of his 14-match winning streak.

Entering the tournament as the first seed, Alcaraz received a bye in the first round and faced off against Australian player Jordan Thompson in his opening match. Thompson had advanced through the qualifying rounds, defeating Alexandre Muller, Marc Andre Huesler, and John Isner in the first round.

The match saw its fair share of twists and turns. At 1-1, Thompson managed to save three break points and took the lead. However, a brief rain interruption occurred in Cincinnati, causing a 20-minute pause in the game. Upon resumption, Thompson successfully held his serve.

The first break of the match came in the sixth game, with Thompson taking a 4-2 lead. However, Alcaraz swiftly responded by breaking back in the following game, capitalizing on his fifth break point opportunity. Alcaraz secured another break at 5-5 and then held his serve to claim the set 7-5.

In the second set, Thompson again managed to secure a break in the sixth game, taking a 5-2 lead. Despite this, Alcaraz displayed resilience by breaking Thompson's serve and narrowing the score to 5-4. Thompson secured another break to extend the match.

During the second set, Thompson's service game was more effective, as he won 83% of points played with his first serve and 62% with his second serve. In contrast, Alcaraz's first-serve percentage was 52%, while his second-serve percentage was 45%. Thompson also committed fewer unforced errors, with only five compared to Alcaraz's.

Alcaraz started the final set strongly, breaking Thompson's serve in the opening game. Although he missed two break point opportunities in the seventh game, he performed flawlessly with his service in the last set, losing only one point on his serve throughout.

The final result favored Alcaraz with a score of 7-5, 4-6, 6-3. In the round of 16, Alcaraz could potentially face Tommy Paul again, but Paul needs to overcome Ugo Humbert in the second round, scheduled for August 16th