Carlos Alcaraz’s title defence at the Rio Open presented by Claro picked up steam on Thursday, but not before a vintage opening set from Fabio Fognini threatened the Spaniard’s reign at the Brazilian ATP 500.
In a rematch of their 2022 Rio de Janeiro semi-final, Alcaraz earned an entertaining 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 victory, improving to 6-0 on the season as he bids to back up his Cordoba title with second trophy in as many weeks on the South American clay.
“It was really tough. Both Fabio and I played such a high level, great points, great shots,” Alcaraz said post-match, later admitting to feeling tired but ready for more. “It’s amazing to play these kinds of matches. I would say both players played almost our 100 per cent.”
Alcaraz led 3-0 in the opening set and had two break points for 4-0 before Fognini stormed back into the match with his unique brand of shotmaking, frequently leaving his opponent and the Rio crowd stunned with his inventiveness. After breaks in seven of the set’s final eight games, Fognini’s brilliance peaked at 4/5 in the tie-break, when a casual pickup volley came off inch perfect to spark a run of three points to seal the set.
“I struggled with my serve a little bit. I was up with a lot of control of the match. But a lot of breaks of serve in a row,” Alcaraz said of the eventful opening set. “I got a little bit down in that moment and it was tough to come back after that.
“But I know that a tennis match is really long. I was going to have my chances to improve the game on my serve and I think I did.”
As Alcaraz left the court following the first set, Fognini had his right ankle taped. The Italian struggled with the issue early in set two, and this time Alcaraz saw home his 3-0 advantage. A moment of good sportsmanship briefly cut the tension as Alcaraz helped Fognini to his feet after the 35-year-old slipped while running down a drop shot — a shot both men used to great effect throughout the highlight-filled match.
Despite the fall, Fognini’s movement improved as the match wore on. Undeterred, Alcaraz built a 3-0 lead for the third consecutive set in the decider. While the Italian clawed back to 3-2, he could not generate a break chance in his final three return games despite twice bringing up 30/30.
A winner after two hours and 48 minutes on Court Guga Kuerten, Alcaraz will next face the winner of the all-Serbian matchup between Laslo Djere and Dusan Lajovic.
Fognini, who won all five of his break points, was seeking his first win in his past 14 attempts against Top 10 opponents.
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Earlier on Thursday, Bernabe Zapata Miralles upset fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-1, 4-6, 6-1. He will next meet fellow Spaniard and seventh seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the quarter-finals, after his 6-2, 6-4 win against Daniel Elahi Galan.
Sixth seed Sebastian Baez also progressed to the last eight with a 7-5, 7-6(6) result against Juan Pablo Varillas, setting up a meeting with Nicolas Jarry. The Chilean defeated Pedro Martinez 6-2, 6-2 on Thursday.
The fourth Rio quarter-final will see Wednesday winners Cameron Norrie and Hugo Dellien square off. Norrie, seeded second, remains on a collision course with Alcaraz for a rematch of their Cordoba final.
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