Carlos Alcaraz survived a second-set surge from qualifier Luca Nardi to reach the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open. (More Tennis News)
The top seed in Doha withstood a late charge from his opponent to emerge a 6-1 4-6 6-3 victor in an almost two-hour long thriller.
Alcaraz started the contest with back-to-back love service games before cruising to the opener바카라 웹사이트in just 36 minutes, but he was forced to claim바카라 웹사이트set point at the third time of asking.바카라 웹사이트
The Spaniard appeared to be cruising to the last eight after racing into a 4-1 lead in the second, only for Nardi to win 15 of the last 16 points to take the encounter to a decider.바카라 웹사이트
But the world number three was able to assume바카라 웹사이트control of the match from then on, breaking Nardi in the third game before closing out the contest with a serve Nardi failed to return.
"At 4-1, 40-40 [in the second set], he played a few good points, and then it seemed like he started to play like the world number one,"바카라 웹사이트said Alcaraz.바카라 웹사이트
"I couldn't do anything, I just tried to stay there, stay strong mentally. My energy levels probably went down a little bit, but credit to him. I'm really happy [that I] forgot everything and restarted in the third set.
"It was a good level mentally, I was really strong. I just tried to [let him know] that I was there, screaming: 'Vamos'바카라 웹사이트to push me up and get the good energy again."
Alcaraz's reward for his hard-fought victory is a clash against바카라 웹사이트Jiri Lehecka, who beat Fabian Marozsan earlier in the day.바카라 웹사이트
Data Debrief: Alcaraz's ATP 500 streak continues
After triumphing in Beijing last October and claiming his first indoor title in Rotterdam earlier this month, Alcaraz's stellar run of form in ATP 500 events바카라 웹사이트was under threat by Nardi on Wednesday.바카라 웹사이트
However, the 21-year-old was able to withstand the pressure to claim his 12th consecutive victory바카라 웹사이트in such events to keep his debut run in Doha going.바카라 웹사이트
Alcaraz won just 71% (36/51) of his first-serve points바카라 웹사이트but, perhaps crucially, he was able to save three of the five break points, while also converting five of those in the contest.바카라 웹사이트
