The teenage phenom’s ‘ridiculous’ display has turned heads across the tennis world.
World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz has left the tennis world scrambling for superlatives after an extraordinary display in the third round of the Miami Open. Fresh from his title triumph at this month’s Indian Wells hardcore tournament, the Spanish teen kept his title defence alive in Miami, with a 6-0 7-6 (7-5) win over Serbian Dusan Lajovic.
Alcaraz fired off 26 winners to set up a fourth-round meeting with Australian Open semi-finalist Tommy Paul. The Wonderland remains on track for tennis’ “Sunshine Double” and would be considered favourite to triumph in Miami after beating Daniil Medvedev to claim the Indian Wells trophy last week.
The Spanish teen looked in top condition as he outclassed Lajovic in a dominant opening set, where he didn’t allow his Serbian opponent to win a single game. As well as dishing out a bagel for his hapless rival, Alcaraz was serving up plenty of on-court wizardry, including an outrageous whipped forehand pass at 1-1 in the second set.
The Serb was able to provide some tension towards the end of the second set, breaking to make it 5-5 with Alcaraz paying the price for a sloppy return. Alcaraz then went 6-2 up in the tiebreak before allowing Lajovic to win the next three points. A sublime backhand winner from the Spaniard eventually settled the contest.
