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No. 14 seed Carlos Alcaraz thought a good start to his Miami third round match was the key in his win over former world No. 3 Marin Cilic. Alcaraz, who is enjoying a career-high ranking of No. 16 in the world, overcame No. 21 seed Cilic in straight sets 6-4 6-4 to progress into the Miami round-of-16.
Alcaraz saved a break point in the second game, before he claimed the first break of the match in the third game. Alcaraz missed out on his first set point in the ninth game but served out for the first set in the 10th game.
Alcaraz failed to convert any of his three consecutive break points in the third game but broke Cilic in the ninth game and served out for the match in the 10th game. “I started the match well. It was important to get confidence at the beginning of the match,” Alcaraz said in his on-court interview, per the ATP Tour website.
“[Starting well] was the key in the first set and it was important to be up in the match”.
Alcaraz loves pulling off drop shots
“I think the crowd liked the way I played, with drop shots and playing hard,” Alcaraz added.
“They love that style and I think here in Miami a lot of people speak Spanish”. Meanwhile, world No. 39 Jenson Brooksby upset 17th-ranked Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3 5-7 6-4. Brooksby pulled off a stunning comeback in the third set as Bautista Agut was up by a double break and had a 4-0 lead in the third set.
Bautista Agut collapsed after taking a 4-0 lead in the third set as Brooksby responded with three breaks in a row and won six consecutive games to overturn the deficit and escape with a three-set win. "I'm happy to get through that one.
I thought my competing today was a lot better. Still a little streaky, but usually it would be easy to mentally fold in that situation, I think," Brooksby said. "But I stayed really mentally strong, I competed until the end and it went my way."
