The Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz made his debut with a hard-fought victory this Tuesday at the Hamburg tournament and He needed three sets and a ‘tie break’ to finish off the German Nicola Khun 3-6, 6-1 and 7-6 (3) in two hours and 24 minutes, and go through the first round of the German tournament that is played on clay.
The world number 6 did not start the match on the right foot, exchanging blows with Khun, number 259 in the ATP ranking and a guest of the tournament, until the German broke Alcaraz’s serve and won the first set.
However, the 19-year-old Murcian reacted forcefully in the second round. He only gave up one game against his opponent, 22, who represents Spain until 2021.
The third and final set was hotly contested despite Khun’s injury to his right leg, that did not prevent the German from fighting until he took Alcaraz to the decisive game. Already in the tiebreaker, the Spanish tennis player put one more gear to close the match with more uncertainty than expected.
With the pass to the round of 16, Alcaraz will seek to continue with his particular full of victories in ATP 500 tournaments in 2022, after having won in Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona. In addition, with this inaugural victory in Hamburg, Alcaraz adds 20 wins on clay this year.