Carlos Alcaraz recovered from a slow start to record his first win at the Monte-Carlo Masters, courtesy of a comeback victory over Francisco Cerundolo. (More Tennis News)
The four-time major winner was forced to come from behind, before prevailing 3-6 6-0 6-1 after one hour and 37 minutes.
Alcaraz was aiming to avoid a third straight ATP tour-level defeat, and gained an early break in the opening set. However, this was immediately cancelled out by Cerundolo, who then broke again on the way to drawing first blood.
The Spaniard then faced two break points in the opening game of the second set, but managed to hold and did not look back from there.
Indeed, he reeled off 11 of the next 12 games to set up a third-round clash with Daniel Altmeier.
Alcaraz is joined in the next round by 2023 champion Andrey Rublev, who was a 6-4 7-6 (7-2) winner over veteran Gael Monfils.
Data Debrief: Three from three for Alcaraz
Alcaraz maintained his perfect record against Cerundolo, who he has now beaten in each of their three ATP tour-level meetings.
The Spaniard recorded his 82nd victory in what was his 100th match on clay, the joint fourth-most by any player during the Open Era.
