Carlos Alcaraz battled through a rain interruption to claim his 50th win of the season, defeating Jordan Thompson 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 on Wednesday at the Cincinnati Open.
The top-seeded Spaniard is bidding for his seventh trophy of 2023 as he prepares for a US Open title defense in less than a fortnight.
His victory took three hours, with the world number one breaking open the third set as he delivered two love games and moved through on a second match point.
“I had never played him and the start/stop was not easy,” Alcaraz said. “It was not easy to wait for the rain.
“He played aggressive, I’m glad to get through. It was a long day waiting to play and then find rain in the first set.
“I had to play my best level at the end; I’m hoping for better conditions in the next round.”
Alcaraz was tested by number 55 Thompson who now stands 2-16 against Top-10 opponents.
The Spaniard had 32 winners and 41 unforced errors in the marathon.
Including a 15-minute pause for rain and subsequent warmup, the first set took nearly 90 minutes, with Thompson saving 10 of a dozen break points only to lose on the first Alcaraz set point.
Alcaraz came back from a break down in the second set and ran away with the third as Thompson complained to the chair umpire about an incorrectly strung racquet which he only discovered at a late stage in the epic.
Stephens Tames Garcia
American Sloane Stephens battled back to defeat defending champion Caroline Garcia 4-6 6-4 6-4 and reach the third round of the Cincinnati Open.
Stephens was ecstatic after executing a perfect volley on match point to claim the win as the 2017 U.S. Open champion looks to sharpen her game ahead of the year’s final major, which kicks off later this month in New York.
“Thank you guys so much, it was so electric in here and so fun,” Stephens said in an on-court interview under the lights.
“I felt like I played really well and was really consistent but honestly there is nothing better than playing in the U.S. in front of an American crowd. Incredible audience and atmosphere.”
Stephens was tentative with her serve early on and was broken for a second time in the 10th game as Garcia grabbed the first set.
But the six-seeded Frenchwoman appeared rattled when she dropped her serve early in the second set and Stephens rode that advantage to level the match.
It looked like Stephens would run away with the decider when she raced out to a 3-0 double break lead but Garcia dug deep to level at 4-4.
But Stephens would not be denied, breaking back and coolly serving out the match to set up a meeting with either Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova or Anastasia Potapova, who play their second-round match on Wednesday.
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