In his first match since winning Wimbledon, Carlos Alcaraz battled Ben Shelton on Wednesday night in Toronto. By defeating his fellow #NextGenATP star, Alcaraz advanced to the third round of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers. Little separated the players for the duration of the match, save for one break of serve in the fourth game, as Shelton stuck to an aggressive gameplan and the top-seeded Spaniard committed more errors than usual.
After the match, Carlos Alcarzaz commented “He’s really, really tough. So he’s a really aggressive one. He didn’t let me play my game that is aggressive going to the net. So he did it almost every time. So he’s really nice. Honestly, I never played against someone that hit the ball as hard as he hit. It’s something crazy… some serve at 235.” (H/T SportsKeeda)
Further adding “Honestly, I almost broke my string. I mean, he’s going to be over there a long time, I’m sure. We are going to play so many matches. And really happy to get through and have another opportunity to be a little bit better in the next round.”
Carlos Alcaraz, who has won six ATP Masters 1000 championships this season, is now 18-2 overall at the Masters 1000 level. He has won titles in Miami and Madrid. At this level, he’s aiming for his sixth championship. Alcaraz said that “This match will help me be more focused in the next round and start the match on my game first.”
After Shelton, Carlos Alcaraz faces Hubert Hurkacz next
Both players had 17 wins throughout the match, according to ATP Stats, while Shelton committed just two more unforced mistakes than her opponent (for a total of 26). Shelton only saved two break points, while Alcaraz saved three. Shelton easily handled his service games in the second set, but in the tie-break he lost his composure when he gave up back-to-back mini-breaks to fall 1/4, nearly missing what would have been the winning forehand, and then committing a double fault and ending the game.
The big-serving Pole Hubert Hurkacz will be Alcaraz’s next opponent. Hurkacz overcame a set deficit to upset Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 while slinging 25 aces. Alcaraz has only faced the powerful Hubert Hurkacz once before, in the Miami Open quarterfinal last year. The Spaniard won the match 7-6 (5), 7-6(2), giving him the advantage in their head-to-head matchup of 1-0.
Hurkacz won 81 percent of the points on his serve and racked up a match-high 13 aces. Carlos, however, outperformed his rival in terms of success rates on second serves, with a success rate of 70% compared to the Pole’s 45. Hurkacz, who entered the Canadian Open this year as the 15th seed, defeated Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic in the second round. After dropping the first set, the Pole thoroughly controlled the following two sets to win the match 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 and advance to play top-seed Alcaraz.
Hurkacz is a match that all players must dread, even if Alcaraz is unquestionably the favorite against everyone in the draw. This season, Hurkacz has been the tour’s top server. It will be exciting to see this battle between them because it is expected to be tight.
In case you missed it:
