"I was about to lose": Alcaraz survives Ruusuvouri scare as Madrid Open title defence begins

Carlos Alcaraz had to fight hard in order to survive a very tricky 2nd round Madrid Open matchup with Emil Ruusuvuori who easily won the first set with spectacular play.

The Finnish player applied heavy pressure on Alcaraz in the second set as well and it almost resulted in another break which would have complicated things even further. Alcaraz survived and won the second set easily cruising in the 3rd as well. After the match, he did admit that he could have lost that match:

"It was really tough. I would say I was about to lose. It was just one point. One of the break points he had at 2-3 in the second set was like a match point for him. I was really happy I was able to save that game and come back a bit. It was really tough. Emil played unbelievably, but I am really, really happy to get through that."

He added:

"When I got it to 3-3 in the second set, I thought that this is my chance. I tried to take that. I was really, really focused. I was trying to put every ball in and running for every ball. Playing with a good attitude the whole match, I was able to come back."

Alcaraz finished off with:

"It was tough for me to get used to the conditions. There is so much altitude here, the ball bounces a lot. I am not going to use excuses. Emil was better than me until 3-3 in the second set. Hitting the ball with no mistakes, serving well with a lot of rhythm and I could not follow his rhythm. It was tough for me to stay with him. But I am happy to come back and finish with a lot of confidence."