world no. 2 Carlos Alcaraz had to work hard en route to the quarterfinals of the ATP 500 Rio event. Carlos faced Fabio Fognini in the second round, scoring a 6-7, 6-2, 6-4 triumph in two hours and 47 minutes for a place in the last eight.
Alcaraz served at 70% but could have produced better numbers. The youngster faced five break points and was unable to defend any, in the first match alone he was broken four times in a row. On the other hand, he grabbed half the return points and created 17 break chances.
Rather than seal the deal early, Alcaraz blew the lead in the first set and fell behind. He outclassed his opponent in the second set and built the crucial lead in the early stages of the decider to emerge on top.
The young gun got off to a reliable start, producing two good holds and breaking the opponent in the second game following Fognini’s loose forehand.
Carlos Alcaraz defeated Fabio Fognini in three sets in Rio.
The Italian survived further break points in the fourth game and rallied at 1-3 after the Spaniard’s forehand volley.
Carlos grabbed another return game to open a 4-2 gap, but squandered it after a loose service game a few minutes later. Fabio secured the result at 4-4 and broke for the third time in a row in the next to build the first lead and serve for the first set.
Fognini played a loose forehand to lose serve and keep the opponent alive. Alcaraz hit a routine volley in game 11 and was broken for the fourth time in a row! Fabio served for the set for the second time at 6-5 and experienced the fourth break to introduce a tiebreaker.
Carlos led 4-2 and 5-4, but it was not for him. Fognini claimed three points in a row to end the tiebreaker 7-5 and get some big momentum. Alcaraz produced four comfortable holds in the second set and kept up the pressure on the other side.
He broke Fabio in games one and three to carve out the lead. Unlike the first set, he held it and closed the set with a 30-hold hold in game eight for 6-2 and a decider. The Spaniard pushed hard and earned two breaks in the early stages to move ahead 3-0 and move closer to the finish line.
Fabio recovered a break in game four and both served well in the remaining games. The Spaniard served for the win in game ten and held at 30 to emerge on top and advance to the last eight..
