TennisNH

#NextGenATP Alcaraz Completes Comeback In Doha

10-Jan-2021 16:49:00 | ATP World Tour

Carlos Alcaraz moved closer to his Grand Slam main draw debut on Sunday, as he rallied from a set down to reach the second round of the Australian Open qualifying draw.

The #NextGenATP Spaniard won 75 per cent of his first-serve points (42/56) to beat Filip Horansky 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 in Doha, which is staging the qualifying event this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Alcaraz recovered well from the disappointment of failing to convert four set points at 5-4 in the first set to advance in two hours and 23 minutes.

The 17-year-old, who is the youngest player inside the Top 200 of the FedEx ATP Rankings, is aiming to build on an impressive finish to the 2020 season. Across his final six ATP Challenger Tour events in 2020, Alcaraz compiled a 20-3 record and won three trophies from four finals.

The 21st seed will face Evgeny Karlovskiy of Russia for a place in the final qualifying round. Karlovskiy also recovered from a set down to defeat Facundo Mena 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in two hours to book a meeting with Alcaraz.

Botic Van de Zandschulp upset #NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 to progress to the second round. The World No. 156, who reached two Challenger finals in 2020 (0-2), broke serve on four occasions to eliminate the 13th seed in just under two hours.

Van de Zandschulp will face Joao Menezes in his next match. The Brazilian saved three match points in a second-set tie-break to defeat Andrea Collarini 1-6, 7-6(8), 6-3.

Fifth seed Taro Daniel came from a set down to beat Roberto Cid Subervi of the Dominican Republic 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. The Japanese will face Maximilian Marterer for a spot in the final qualifying round. The German earned his first win of the event with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win against Marco Trungelliti of Argentina.

Zhang Zhizhen overcame ninth seed Evgeny Donskoy 7-5, 6-3 to confirm a second-round clash against Mikael Torpegaard of Denmark. Torpegaard cruised past Germany’s Mats Moraing 6-1, 6-0 in 46 minutes.

#NextGenATP Czech Tomas Machac earned a 6-3, 6-1 win against Joao Domingues to move within two victories of his Australian Open main draw debut. The 20-year-old will next face Felipe Meligeni Rodrigues Alves, who beat 30th seed Martin Klizan 6-1, 6-4.

Carlos Taberner will face Dustin Brown in the second qualifying round in Doha. The 22nd seed beat Roberto Marcora 6-2, 7-5, while Brown overcame Hiroki Moriya 6-2, 2-6, 6-1.

Viktor Troicki’s bid to compete in the Australian Open main draw for a 12th time started with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1 comeback win against 23rd seed Jurij Rodionov of Austria. The Serbian, who has reached the third round in Melbourne on four occasions, will meet Ulises Blanch in the second round. The American moved past Andrey Kuznetsov 6-4, 6-1 in 76 minutes.