Carlos Alcaraz reacts to surviving scare in his first ATP win since becoming No 1
by DZEVAD MESIC | VIEW 3424
World No 1 Carlos Alcaraz described Jack Draper as "a very dangerous" player following their Swiss Indoors Basel first round match. On Monday, Alcaraz kicked off his debut campaign in Basel. In his Basel opener, Alcaraz survived a major scare as he recovered from a set down to beat 45th-ranked Draper 3-6 6-2 7-5.
That was Alcaraz's first ATP win since becoming No. 1. "In the beginning of the match it was tough. I did a lot of mistakes in the beginning. I wanted to play really aggressive on this court. For me, it's a bit slower than the other tournaments.
But obviously I had to handle that, I had to work on my problems and change my tactics a little bit in the second set. I knew that Jack is playing great. He is a really dangerous player and I really had to be focused and, of course, never give up," Alcaraz said, per the ATP website.
How Alcaraz defeated Draper?
Right from the start, Draper started pressing Alcaraz's service games. After missing out on two break points in the first game of the match, Draper claimed the first break in the third game to open a 2-1 lead.
Alcaraz had a chance to get the break back in the eighth game, but Draper saved two break points to take a 5-3 lead. In the ninth game - when Alcaraz was serving to stay in the first set - Draper earned his second break to win the opener.
After losing the first set, Alcaraz started the second set with back-to-back breaks to take a 4-0 lead. Alcaraz then held on to his serve the rest of the second set to send the match into a third set. In the third set, Alcaraz claimed the first break in the fifth game but got broken back in the eighth game.
However, Alcaraz kept his focus as he broke Draper again in the 11th game, before serving out for the match in the following game.
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