Carlos Alcaraz fought through grueling three-setter to beat World No. 56 Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 and book his third-round spot in the Cincinnati Masters on Monday (IST).
The World No. 2 cruised through the first set in 28 minutes but lost steam in the second. His game was punctuated by errors, and his intensity waned, providing a confident Dzumhur the room to push ahead, take control of rallies, and force a deciding set.
Getting back his composure in the third set, the Spaniard discovered the accuracy and firepower necessary to stabilize his game and win the match after one hour and 41 minutes.
"It was just a rollercoaster. Lots of good emotions, bad emotions, back to the good ones. All I can say is I am glad to win in the end and just have another opportunity to be better. I will try tomorrow to have my confidence back because today it was a little bit tricky.".
"Damir plays extremely intelligent tennis, which I must be sharp and prepared for that. I have tomorrow off, to regain the confidence back and hopefully be better in the next round," Alcaraz stated.
This was Alcaraz's first encounter since his loss to Jannik Sinner in their latest Lexus ATP Head2Head encounter at Wimbledon's final. Both are already assured of positions at the ATP Finals and are now engaged in a fierce battle for the ATP Year-End No. 1 ranking, the ultimate prize. Alcaraz is ahead of Sinner by 1,500 points in the ATP Live Race To Turin.
The 22-year-old has won tour-best five titles to date in 2025, with Masters 1000 victories at Monte-Carlo and Rome. His last best Cincinnati performance was in 2023, when he took Novak Djokovic to three sets in a thrilling final.
In pursuit of his eighth Masters 1000 title, Alcaraz will next face Hamad Medjedovic in the third round.
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