Carlos Alcaraz, the defending champion, advanced to the third round of the Mutua Madrid Open on Friday after overcoming Emil Ruusuvuori 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
The 19-year-old fought hard in the second set after dropping the first one, saving all five break points he came up against to tie the match. Alcaraz raised his game in the third set, encouraged by a boisterous home crowd inside Manolo Santana Stadium. After two hours and sixteen minutes, he produced magical moments and triumph by reducing mistakes, making good use of the drop shot, and displaying extraordinary agility.
During the press conference that followed the match, Carlitos revealed: “It was really tough. I would say I was about to lose. It was just one point. One of the break points he had at 2-3 in the second set was like a match point for him. I was really happy I was able to save that game and come back a bit. It was really tough. Emil played unbelievably, but I am really, really happy to get through that.”
Alcaraz in Madrid, ranking, and results in 2023
WWWWWWWWWW Ranked no.2, Alcaraz owns a 24-2 win-loss record in 2023. Alcaraz is participating in Madrid where he overcame the world no.41 Emil Ruusuvuori 2-6 6-4 6-2.
Carlos Alcaraz will take on the world no.32 Grigor Dimitrov in the 3rd round. The head to head is 1-0 for Alcaraz.
Carlos clinched 3 titles in 2023 in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells and Barcelona. Carlos got to the final in Rio de Janeiro (Rio Open).
The Spaniard won 9 titles in his career: 3 on hard courts and 6 on clay courts. (See the list of his titles)
Alcaraz will compete next in Rome (Internazionali BNL d’Italia). He will begin to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 10th of May.
Dimitrov in Madrid, ranking, and results in 2023
Now ranked no.32, Grigor achieved a 11-7 win-loss record in 2023. The Bulgarian is playing at the moment in Madrid where he beat the world no.56 Gregoire Barrere 7-66 7-62.
Grigor Dimitrov will square off with the world no.2 Carlos Alcaraz in the 3rd round. The head to head is 1-0 for Alcaraz.
The Bulgarian won 8 titles in his career: 3 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts, 3 on indoor courts and 1 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
He is also scheduled to play at the French Open (French Open) after Rome. The main draw will start on the 10th of May.
Carlos Alcaraz and Grigor Dimitrov faced off just once. Their current head to head is 1-0 for Alcaraz. When they played, Carlos Alcaraz won 6-1 6-3 in the 3rd round in Paris (Rolex Paris Masters) in November 2022.
In the following video you can watch the highlights.
Carlos Alcaraz and Grigor Dimitrov |
| Embed from Getty Images |
