China Open: Alcaraz cruises past Italian big server, Medvedev overcomes Gael Monfils

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Beijing, Sep 27 (IANS) Four-time major champion Carlos Alcaraz cruised past fellow 21-year-old Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-4, 6-4 to reach the second round while third seed Daniil Medvedev defeated veteran Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the men's section of the China Open here on Friday.

It was a challenging match for Alcaraz, who won the French Open and Wimbledon this year, as he was facing one of the biggest serves on the ATP Tour in Mpetshi Perricard as he had little time to settle into his latest campaign.

However, the top seed adjusted quickly to the firepower of Mpetshi Perricard and delivered a rock-solid performance in the first-round triumph. Alcaraz broke the Frenchman’s serve in the opening game of each set to overcome his fellow 21-year-old in 81 minutes.

"Honestly it wasn't easy. He's a really powerful player. Big serve, big shots from the baseline. So I had to be really focused. That was the plan. Try to not make too many mistakes and play aggressively from the baseline," Alcaraz was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

Alcaraz converted both break points he earned in his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash with Lyon champion Mpetshi Perricard. Although the Frenchman finished the match having won 83 per cent (20/24) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats, his victory bid was undermined by lapses at the beginning of each set.

After securing victory in just his third tour-level match against a younger opponent, Alcaraz improved to 44-9 for the season. The Spaniard, whose qualification for the Nitto ATP Finals was confirmed earlier this week, will take on Tallon Griekspoor in the second round.

In another first-round match, Russian star Medvedev defeated veteran Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4 to secure a place in the next round.

--IANS

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