Top seed Carlos Alcaraz withstood a charge from qualifier Luca Nardi for a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 victory in the second round of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha on Wednesday.
Spain’s Alcaraz, ranked No. 3 in the world, converted 5 of 11 break-point opportunities, to 2 of 5 for Italy’s Nardi, who had five double faults. Alcaraz won the opening set and was up 4-1 in the second when Nardi, No. 85 in the world, roared back to force a third set.
Alcaraz, winner of 12 straight matches at ATP 500 events, next faces Czech Jiri Lehecka, who ousted Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan 6-4, 6-2.
Second-seeded Alex de Minaur of Australia, fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia, fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev of Russia and eighth-seeded Jack Draper of Great Britain all won matches in straight sets.
Carlos Alcaraz posts hard-fought win at Doha World No. 3
Italy’s Matteo Berrettini eliminated the Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (4), 6-7 (6), 6-4, and Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime won in walkover of Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic, who withdrew due to a right leg injury.
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