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Time of India
11-08-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
'Hungry and ready to win': Carlos Alcaraz talks about desperately needing family time amid tough tennis schedule
Carlos Alcaraz talks about desperately needing family time amid tough tennis schedule (Image via Getty) Carlos Alcaraz, the world No. 2 in men's tennis, opened up about how much he loves the sport but also how important it is for him to take breaks. The 22-year-old Spaniard is currently playing at the 2025 Cincinnati Open in Ohio. After a tough match on August 10, he said he needs time to relax with family and friends away from tennis. This honest talk came just weeks after his loss to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final, showing how even top players need a pause. Carlos Alcaraz on why taking breaks from tennis is important for him Winning his Cincinnati Open second-round match, Carlos Alcaraz had a discussion with Prakash Amritraj of Tennis Channel. To enter the third round, he beat Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 2-6, 6-3. Carlos Alcaraz said playing tennis many days in a row may be taxing. He said, "I love playing tennis and stepping on the court," but sometimes it is too many days, too many weeks consecutively. I hence like to take vacation with my friends and family, just lounging about at home, he stated, adding that these pauses allow him to feel new and prepared to come back stronger. Alcaraz also discussed his rest breaks following major tournaments this year. He took time off following Wimbledon and the French Open (Roland Garros). He spent days first in Ibiza, then later in southern Spain. "It has been wonderful to have those days," he remarked. "I came back hungry and ready to win again.' The breaks helped him win the Queen's Club title on grass and reach the Wimbledon final. Also Read: Donald Trump Urgently Orders Homeless To Leave Washington DC After Golf Course Drive Carlos Alcaraz will play Hamad Medjedovic next at Cincinnati Open Carlos Alcaraz will square up against Hamad Medjedovic from Serbia in the third round after defeating Damir Dzumhur. Unseeded in the tournament, 22-year-old Medjedovic has triumphed in straight sets in his first two matches. In the second round, he even vanquished No. 26 seed Tallon Griekspoor, hence making him a formidable competitor. In an ATP Tour-level game, this will be Alcaraz and Medjedovic's first meeting. The 2025 Cincinnati Open, a significant ATP Masters 1000 tournament hosted every August in Ohio, United States, is this one. The winner will go into the fourth round to meet No. 16 seed Jakub Mensik or fortunate loser Luca Nardi. Because this is among the most crucial stops before the US Open, athletes like Carlos Alcaraz are aiming for good victories here. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
Yahoo
11-08-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Alcaraz battles as Shelton, Zverev race into Cincinnati third round
Carlos Alcaraz fought through a second-set slump to post a "rollercoaster" 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Damir Dzumhur in his opening match Sunday at the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open. The Spaniard, playing his first tournament since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final, raced through the first set but completely lost his way in the second, dropping his serve twice against the 33-year-old Bosnian. Alcaraz regained his intensity and cut down his errors in the third as a seventh ace took him to a match point that was converted when Dzumhur fired wide. "It was just a rollercoaster," said the second seed, who was winning his 12th straight match at the Masters 1000 level after taking the titles in Monte Carlo and Rome. "Lots of good feelings, bad feelings, back to the good ones. I am happy to get the win at the end. I know that I have chances to do better." Alcaraz committed 44 unforced errors and said conditions in Cincinnati, where he was runner-up in 2023, were always tricky. "The ball flies a lot, goes super fast," he said. "You have to be ready to be in a good position for each shot and that is really difficult to do." Third seed Alexander Zverev found things more straightforward, winning 6-3, 6-3 against US wild card Nishesh Basavareddy in the night session. Zverev needed just 66 minutes to get past Basavareddy, a 20-year-old ranked 109th in the world. The German put 41 of his 50 first serves in play and didn't face a break point. Basavareddy saved one match point with a blistering service return but Zverev secured the win with his 12th ace. American Ben Shelton, coming off his first Masters 1000 title in Toronto, eased through 6-3, 3-1 when Camilo Ugo Carabelli retired with a knee injury. Shelton's early night was a boon after a draining Toronto tournament which only ended on Thursday night. "It's not easy to play a couple of days after winning any title," Shelton said. "I feel for Camilo and it's obviously not the way that you want to go through. I hope that he has a quick recovery." Asked about the tape on his own right thigh, Shelton said he has "a few muscle things" going on. "The legs take a lot of force," he said. Sixth seed Alex de Minaur of Australia, the Washington champion, lost to American Reilly Opelka 7-6 (8/6), 6-4. But another Australian, Adam Walton, secured a first top-50 win of his career with a 6-7 (0/7), 6-4, 6-1 upset of former world number one and 2019 Cincy champion Daniil Medvedev of Russia. - Gauff battles through - In the women's draw, French Open champion Coco Gauff battled through a tough first set to beat China's Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-2. Gauff, who lifted the trophy in Cincinnati in 2023 and went on to claim her first Grand Slam title at the US Open that year, had to grind her way through the first set. But the number two seed steadied in the second to run out the winner in 71 minutes. "It was a rough start," Gauff said. "But it was about just trusting myself and the work we've done in practice." Third seed Jessica Pegula, runner-up last year to Aryna Sabalenka, defeated Kimberly Birrell 6-4, 6-3. Seventh seed Jasmine Paolini, finalist last season at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, also advanced, beating Maria Sakkari of Greece 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/5). str/bb/dh
Japan Times
11-08-2025
- Sport
- Japan Times
Alcaraz and Gauff advance after tough sets in Cincinnati
Carlos Alcaraz had to fight his way out of a second-set slump on Sunday to escape with a 6-1, 2-5, 6-3 victory over Damir Dzumhur in his opening match at the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open. The Spaniard, playing his first tournament since a runner-up finish to Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon, raced through the first set but completely lost his way in the second, dropping his serve twice against the 33-year-old Bosnian. But he regained his intensity — and cut down his errors in the third. Alcaraz fired his seventh ace to set up a match point and advanced to the third round seconds later as his opponent fired wide. Alcaraz, seeded second, claimed his 12th consecutive match at the Masters 1000 level after titles in Monte Carlo and Rome. "It was a relief to get this win," Alcaraz said after committing 44 unforced errors. "It was a rollercoaster of good feelings and bad feelings. "I was happy to get the win in the end. I know that I have chances to do better. "I will use the day off tomorrow to get my confidence back. It was a little tricky, I need to play smart tennis." Alcaraz, runner-up in Cincy in 2023, next faces Serb Hamad Medjedovic, a 6-4, 7-6 (3) winner over Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor. American Ben Shelton, coming off his first Masters 1000 title in Toronto, eased through his opener 6-3, 3-1 as opponent Camilo Ugo Carabelli was unable to continue because of a right knee problem. The Argentine, who beat Kei Nishikori in the first round, pulled up short after the first point of the third game of the second set, gripping his knee. With a tournament supervisor translating from Spanish, the South American then took a medical time out. Once back, he only lasted three more points. Shelton had less than an hour on court, something of a favor after a draining Toronto tournament which only ended on Thursday. "It's not easy to play a couple of days after winning any title," he said. "I feel for Camilo. I hope he has a quick recovery. "I wanted to compete and be a warrior this week — see what I could do," said Shelton, adding when asked about tape on his right thigh that he has "a few muscle things. "The legs take a lot of the force," he said. Sixth seed Alex de Minaur, the Washington champion and a Toronto quarterfinalist last week, was bounced by American Reilly Opelka 7-6 (6), 6-4, who crushed 14 aces and saved all seven break points he faced. Australian Adam Walton upset slumping former No. 1 and 2019 Cincy champion Daniil Medvedev 6-7 (0), 6-4, 6-1 for the first top-50 win of his career. Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut dismissed Briton Cam Norrie 6-4, 6-3 while number nine seed Andrey Rublev beat American Learner Tien 7-6 (4), 6-3. Gauff fights through In women's action, second-seeded French Open champion Coco Gauff battled through a tough first set to beat China's Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-2. Gauff, who lifted the trophy in Cincinnati in 2023 and went on to claim her first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open that year, grinded through a first set marred by five service breaks. But the seed steadied in the second set to run out the winner in 71 minutes on a first match point. "It was a rough start," Gauff said. "But it was about just trusting myself and the work we've done in practice. "I was able to let it all go in the second set." Third seed Jessica Pegula, runner-up last year to Aryna Sabalenka, defeated Kimberly Birrell 6-4, 6-3. Seventh seed Jasmine Paolini, finalist last season at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, needed her last-chance match point to cement a 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5) win over Greek Maria Sakkari. The Italian winner blew her first five match points and advanced to the third round when Sakkari delivered a double-fault. Paolini also needed five chances to win the opening set.
Malay Mail
11-08-2025
- Sport
- Malay Mail
Carlos Alcaraz survives rollercoaster ride in Cincinnati opener
CINCINNATI, Aug 11 — Carlos Alcaraz had to fight his way out of a second-set slump on Sunday to escape with a 6-1, 2-5, 6-3 victory over Damir Dzumhur in his opening match at the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open. The Spaniard, playing his first tournament since a runner-up finish to Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon, raced through the first set but completely lost his way in the second set, dropping his serve twice against the 33-year-old Bosnian. But he regained his intensity — and cut down his errors, in the third. Alcaraz fired his seventh ace to set up a match point and advanced to the third round seconds later as his opponent fired wide. Alcaraz, seeded second claimed his 12th consecutive match at the Masters 1000 level after titles in Monte Carlo and Rome. 'It was a relief to get this win,' Alcaraz said after committing 44 unforced errors. 'It was a rollercoaster of good feelings and bad feelings. 'I was happy to get the win in the end. I know that I have chances to do better. 'I will use the day off tomorrow to get my confidence back. It was a little tricky, I need to play smart tennis.' Alcaraz, runner-up in Cincy in 2023, added: 'It can be difficult to play great tennis here. The ball really flies and goes super fast. There will be some points where you don't feel so good. 'You must maintain positive thoughts and keep going in the right way.' Sixth seed Alex de Minaur, the Washington champion and a Toronto quarter-finalist last week, was bounced by American Reilly Opelka 7-6 (8/6), 6-4, who crushed 14 aces and saved all seven break points he faced. 'I didn't serve as well as I'd have liked to, but everything else was working,' said Opelka, who had lost five prior matches against the Australian. 'My serve fluctuated and it was a bit of a surprise that the other things came through well for me today.' Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut dismissed Briton Cam Norrie 6-4, 6-3 while number nine seed Andrey Rublev beat American Learner Tien 7-6 (7/4), 6-3. Gauff battles through In women's action, second-seeded French Open champion Coco Gauff battled through a tough first set to beat China's Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-2. Gauff, who lifted the trophy in Cincinnati in 2023 and went on to claim her first Grand Slam title at the US Open that year, grinded through a first set marred by five service breaks. But the seed steadied in the second set to run out the winner in 71 minutes on a first match point. 'It was a rough start,' Gauff said. 'But it was about just trusting myself and the work we've done in practice. 'I was able to let it all go in the second set.' Third seed Jessica Pegula, runner-up last year to Aryna Sabalenka, defeated Kimberly Birrell 6-4, 6-3. Seventh seed Jasmine Paolini, finalist last season at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, needed her last-chance match point to cement a 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/5) win over Greek Maria Sakkari. The Italian winner blew her first five match points and advanced to the third round when Sakkari delivered a double-fault. Paolini also needed five chances to win the opening set. 'It was a rollercoaster,' Paolini said. 'It's better to go in a straight line in these matches, not up and down,' she said. 'The key for me was trying not to be in a rush, I tried to hit winners and move her around. 'I served well on the important points but this was not the best performance for me.' Olympic champion Belinda Bencic was upended 6-4, 7-6 (7/0) by Veronika Kudermetova. Eighth seed Emma Navarro was eliminated 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 by German qualifier Ella Seidel. — AFP
Arab News
10-08-2025
- Sport
- Arab News
Erratic Alcaraz battles through in Cincinnati opening match
CINCINNATI: Carlos Alcaraz had to fight his way out of a second-set slump on Sunday to escape with a 6-1, 2-5, 6-3 victory over Damir Dzumhur in his opening match at the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport
