ROME — Carlos Alcaraz returned from a quick harm layoff and did not seem to have any points throughout a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Serbian qualifier Dusan Lajovic on the Italian Open on Friday.
The third-ranked Alcaraz withdrew from the Madrid Open final month as a result of an higher proper leg ailment that bothered him throughout the Barcelona Open remaining. He additionally had a left leg harm.
Towards Lajovic, Alcaraz wore a protracted black brace that coated the higher portion of his proper leg and stretched down to only under his knee.
“The physique felt nice,” Alcaraz mentioned. “I simply moved effectively. I made a number of good sprints right now with none ache. … It was a take a look at for me, so I feel I handed the take a look at right now.”
“It was an ideal efficiency, nice degree, which was stunning for me a bit of bit, however simply actually completely happy for that,” Alcaraz added.
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Alcaraz gained the opening 4 video games however dropped his serve when he tried to shut out the primary set at 5-2. The Spaniard broke again within the subsequent sport to win the set, exhibiting off his velocity on the clay courtroom on the Foro Italico when he ran down a drop shot and produced a backhand winner.
He additionally went forward early within the second set and completed out the win. He had the identical variety of winners as unforced errors, with 24 every.
Alcaraz, who gained the Monte Carlo Masters in April, improved to 10-1 on clay this season. He’ll subsequent face Laslo Djere, who defeated Thirty first-seeded Alex Michelsen 6-0, 6-3.
A four-time Grand Slam champion, Alcaraz is getting ready to defend his title on the French Open, which begins Might 25.
The Rome match additionally marks the return of top-ranked Jannik Sinner from a three-month doping ban. Sinner opens towards 99th-ranked Mariano Navone on Saturday.
Sinner and Alcaraz are in reverse sides of the draw.
In different males’s outcomes Friday, world No. 2 Alexander Zverev stormed into the third spherical with a complete 6-1, 6-2 win over Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli.
Qualifier Vilius Gaubas stands between Zverev, the reigning champion in Rome, and a spot within the fourth spherical.
Jack Draper, the fifth seed, additionally earned a snug win, overcoming residence hopeful Luciano Darderi 6-1, 6-4. Draper transformed 80% of his break level alternatives whereas heading off all seven he confronted to safe a third-round assembly with qualifier Vit Kopriva.
Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti and Francesco Passaro gave the Rome crowd one thing to cheer about, nonetheless, with Musetti breezing previous Otto Virtanen 6-3, 6-2, whereas wild card Passaro pulled off the upset of the day, downing 14th seed Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 6-3.
No. 9 seed Holger Rune outlasted Francisco Comesana 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 over three-hours to safe his spot within the third spherical, whereas 13-seed Arthur Fils eased previous Tallon Griekspoor 6-2, 6-2.
Within the ladies’s match, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka opened with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Anastasia Potapova, then in an evening match, Coco Gauff wanted to rally for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory over 156th-ranked Canadian qualifier Victoria Mboko.
The 18-year-old Mboko, a semifinalist on the Wimbledon and US Open junior tournaments in 2022, gave Gauff hassle at the beginning together with her strong baseline sport.
The Related Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
