The Murcian won in three sets against Soonwoo Kwon and in the round of 16 he will face Munar
Carreño advanced in his debut against Zapata and Ramos and Taberner also said goodbye
MADRID, 20 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz made his debut with victory this Wednesday at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell-Conde de Godó Trophy, an ATP 500 event that takes place on clay, against the South Korean Soonwoo Kwon in three sets (6-1, 2-6, 6- 2), on a day in which Jaume Munar, his next rival, and Pablo Carreño also advanced.
Alcaraz had a debut with ups and downs in Barcelona but he got through his first match on the European clay tour, since he had just lost in his debut in Monte Carlo. The Murcian had a placid first set, but he trusted in the second to recover a good version in the tiebreaker of the third.
The champion this year in Rio de Janeiro and Miami entered the Rafa Nadal Court strong and with enthusiasm, a 5-0 start that unceremoniously gave him the sleeve. Alcaraz started the second set also breaking his rival, but a strong disconnection from the Spaniard and a step forward from Kwon resulted in five games in a row from the Asian to force the third set.
The Murcian calmed things down and regained tennis control, with the help of an early ‘break’, and achieved the first victory of his career in Barcelona without further complications. The 18-year-old tennis player will face Munar in the third round, who left a great performance in his second victory of the week to beat Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili (6-1, 6-4).
In addition, Wednesday also brought the debut of Carreño, who got rid of his compatriot Bernabé Zapata with a double 6-3. The Asturian started down in the first set, but turned the heat around with five games in a row. The Valencian did not give up and stood up in a tough exchange until the Olympic medalist in Tokyo laid the law on him on the fourth match point.
Carreño will face the Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the third round, round of 16. Meanwhile, the Spaniards Carlos Taberner and Albert Ramos also said goodbye to Barcelona, surpassed by the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime (6-1, 3-6, 6-4) and the South African Lloyd Harris (6-4, 6-3) .