New Delhi: Carlos Alcaraz was made to sweat for a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 win vs Karen Khachanov for a spot in the Italian Open quarterfinals on Tuesday. Alcaraz, after the hard-fought win, set a rematch with Jack Draper, who beat him earlier this year at the Indian Wells semifinals.
Alcaraz survived two break points early in the third set, then wasted a chance for an early break but held on to stretch his overall head-to-head record to 5-0 in his career against the 24th-ranked Khachanov.
“Physically I was struggling a little bit,” Alcaraz said. “Not any pain in any part of the body. I was just tired. I had to run a lot. I was really proud the way I fought (for) every ball.”
The third-ranked Alcaraz played the match wearing a long black brace that covered the upper portion of his right leg till his knee.
Alcaraz was forced to pull out from the Madrid Open last month because of an upper right leg injury that troubled him during the Barcelona Open final. He was suffering from a left leg injury, too.
Alcaraz improves Clay Court record
Alcaraz, who won the Monte Carlo Masters in April, improved his clay record to 12-1 this season. The four-time Grand Slam champion will meet world No. 5 Draper, who rallied past Corentin Moutet 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 to seal the last-8 berth.
While Alcaraz holds a 3-2 career superiority over Draper, the British player emerged victorious in their most recent meeting in the semifinals at Indian Wells, California, in March.
This is Alcaraz’s second Italian Open appearance. During his debut last year, he suffered a shock loss to then-135th-ranked Hungarian qualifier Fabian Marozsan in the third round.
However, Alcaraz claimed back-to-back Grand Slam titles at the French Open and Wimbledon to bounce back strongly.
Meanwhile, top-ranked Jannik Sinner will take on No. 18 Francisco Cerundolo in his biggest test since his return from a three-month doping ban.
Rome is the last big warmup event before the French Open starts May 25.
Carlos Alcaraz survived a scare to set up Italian Open quarterfinal meeting with British world number one Jack Draper. Tennis Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
