After moving within one game of an opening win on Tuesday at the Rio Open presented by Claro, Carlos Alcaraz faced an overnight wait as heavy rain suspended the day’s play. The defending champion quickly finished the job on Wednesday to earn a 6-4, 6-4 win against home favourite Mateus Alves.
“It was really tough,” Alcaraz said of the delay. “We had to stop the match and start again. You have to sleep with the nerves before the match and get ready. It’s not easy.”
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The World No. 556 Alves, a Brazilian wild card, took the fight to Alcaraz at the start of the match on Tuesday. Fuelled by the support of the crowd on Court Guga Kuerten, he led by an early break at 2-0 in the opening set. But Alcaraz won the next eight points to draw level and did not face another break point until midway through set two.
The match’s drama peaked in windy conditions just before the Tuesday night rain, as three breaks of serve preceded the suspension of play. After a trade of breaks from 2-2, Alves relied on big serving to erase four break points at 3-3. But he could not save a fifth, ceding the game to Alcaraz, who quickly consolidated just before the skies opened with the Spaniard leading 6-4, 5-3.
On Wednesday, Alves opened with a hold before Alcaraz served out the match to love.
“It was tougher than I thought,” Alcaraz said of the match, which started two days after he marked his 2023 debut with a title in Buenos Aires. “I always say it’s not easy to change the conditions. I came from Buenos Aires, it’s different conditions. Coming here, it’s not easy to start a tournament well but I’m really happy with my performance.”
Alcaraz will next face Fabio Fognini, a 6-2, 6-3 winner against Tomas Barrios Vera, on Thursday in a rematch of the pair’s 2022 Rio semi-final.
“I know Fabio is playing great, he’s obviously a great player so I have to show a great level to beat him,” Alcaraz previewed. “He’s a very talented player, experienced player as well. Of course playing against him is going to be a really tough round.”
Earlier on Wednesday, Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic upset fifth seed Diego Schwartzman 6-1, 6-4, extending the Argentine’s losing streak to four matches. Lajovic will next meet countryman Laslo Djere in the last 16.