Carlos Alcaraz joins Mexican wave, battles past Jordan Thompson, notches up win No 50

Shahida Jacobs
Carlos Alcaraz in action
Carlos Alcaraz celebrates

It was an eventful evening for Carlos Alcaraz at the Cincinnati Open as the weather caused havoc during his match against Jordan Thompson, although he managed to get over the line to secure his 50th win over the season.

Alcaraz’s clash against Thompson started on Tuesday evening, but rain meant the second-round encounter only came to a conclusion after 1am local time.

And it was far from a straightforward affair for the world No 1 as he looked to avoid back-to-back defeats following his quarter-final loss to Tommy Paul at the Canadian Open last week.

In the end, he managed to answer the questions posed by Thompson as he came away with a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 victory in just over three hours on Centre Court – although that time included the rain break.

With the win, the 20-year-old took his win-loss tally for 2023 to 50-5.

“It wasn’t an easy match but I found my best level at the end,” Alcaraz said. “We were waiting around all day to play the match and then when you step on the court you have to start with the rain, so it wasn’t easy.

“But you have to find a way to win these matches in this type of situation.”

There was a 20-minute rain break in the first set and Alcaraz joined the crowd during the Mexican wave.

The Spaniard then found himself a break down not long after play resumed as Thompson broke in game six only for Alcaraz to hit back immediately before a second break in game 11 earned him the opening set.

The second set had a similar feel to it the Australian again broke in game six before Alcaraz drew level again in game nine. However, this time it was Thompson who got a second break in game 10 to take the match to a decider.

Alcaraz finally found his mojo, especially on his own serve, in the third set as as he broke in the opening game and again in game nine.

There could be a rematch with Paul on the cards in the third round, but the 14th-seeded American needs to get past Ugo Humbert first, and if he gets through that clash then he is projected to meet fifth seed Casper Ruud in the quarter-final.

READ MORE: Carlos Alcaraz is a 10 out of 10 guy reveal compatriots and fellow pros

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