Carlos Alcaraz survived a second-set surge from qualifier Luca Nardi to reach the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open. (More Tennis News)
ဣThe top seed in Doha withstood a late charge from his opponent to emerge a 6-1 4-6 6-3 victor in an almost two-hour long thriller.
𝔍Alcaraz started the contest with back-to-back love service games before cruising to the opener in just 36 minutes, but he was forced to claim set point at the third time of asking.
🧜The Spaniard appeared to be cruising to the last eight after racing into a 4-1 lead in the second, only for Nardi to win 15 of the last 16 points to take the encounter to a decider.
🦩But the world number three was able to assume control of the match from then on, breaking Nardi in the third game before closing out the contest with a serve Nardi failed to return.
🐻"At 4-1, 40-40 [in the second set], he played a few good points, and then it seemed like he started to play like the world number one," said Alcaraz.
🍸"I couldn't do anything, I just tried to stay there, stay strong mentally. My energy levels probably went down a little bit, but credit to him. I'm really happy [that I] forgot everything and restarted in the third set.
♒"It was a good level mentally, I was really strong. I just tried to [let him know] that I was there, screaming: 'Vamos' to push me up and get the good energy again."
༒Alcaraz's reward for his hard-fought victory is a clash against Jiri Lehecka, who beat Fabian Marozsan earlier in the day.
Data Debrief: Alcaraz's ATP 500 streak continues
▨After triumphing in Beijing last October and claiming his first indoor title in Rotterdam earlier this month, Alcaraz's stellar run of form in ATP 500 events was under threat by Nardi on Wednesday.
🍌However, the 21-year-old was able to withstand the pressure to claim his 12th consecutive victory in such events to keep his debut run in Doha going.
💞Alcaraz won just 71% (36/51) of his first-serve points but, perhaps crucially, he was able to save three of the five break points, while also converting five of those in the contest.
