"First round is always tough" - Alcaraz after win over Kuhn

Carlos Alcaraz needed a 3rd set tiebreak to battle past native player Nicola Kuhn in Hamburg and he's glad he got it done.

It was a tricky affair for Alcaraz who had to dig deep to get this done as his tennis was far from his best. The opening set was a very weak one followed by a better 2nd and an okay third. The Spaniard himself was very happy to survive this scare as he could have easily found himself on the way home:

“It was tough. I mean, the first round in every tournament is tough. I came from the grass, and the difference was too much. I’m really happy to be [through to] the second round. I’m sure that I will be better in the next round, but I’m really happy with the win.”

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Everybody could tell that Alcaraz was not playing well at all and he understood it himself:

“I knew that I wasn’t playing well, so I knew I was going to have my chances to get better in the second set. Try not to miss as much as I did in the first set. I’m really happy with the change that I put in in the second set.”

Alcaraz's next opponent will be Filip Krajinovic who downed Bastad finalist Sebastian Baez in a close 3-setter.