If proof were required that Carlos Alcaraz is a man for all seasons, it came as he opened his defence of the Miami Open title with an emphatic 6-0, 6-2 victory over Argentina’s Facundo Bagnis.
Five days ago, Alcaraz staged a masterclass in Indian Wells to dismantle Daniil Medvedev in slow, windy conditions in the final of Indian Wells. In Miami, on a day when the heat and humidity were such that Ons Jabeur, the women’s fourth seed, needed medical attention as she laboured to an early defeat, Alcaraz simply picked up from where he left off in southern California. Never mind the slicker courts. Never mind the quicker balls. If Alcaraz is to retain the world No 1 ranking he regained from Novak Djokovic last weekend, nothing less than a successful title defence will do. The 19-year-old looked intent on doing just that.
“I feel great for my first match here, getting used to these conditions,” Alcaraz told the Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj.
“I feel prepared for this week. I had some days off [after Indian Wells] to take a rest a little bit. Of course, I practised twice here before I started the tournament. After this match, it’s a perfect start. I feel ready for this tournament.
“For me, it’s a totally different tournament [in terms of] conditions. Here there is more humidity, the court is faster. I have to be ready and get used to this court and these conditions. I would say I’m a guy who adapts his game very well, but it’s tough to get used to different conditions like this.”
It did not appear overly tough as Alcaraz rattled off 11 straight points at the start of the match, eventually wrapping up the opening set in just 23 minutes after not dropping a single point on serve. Time and again, the Spaniard’s weighty returns materialised at Bagnis’s feet almost before the hapless world 100 had even completed his service motion. The Argentinian was never allowed to get comfortable in the baseline exchanges, the ball whirring up around his shoulders or hurtling into faraway corners with such dispiriting frequency that, when he finally held serve in the ninth game of the match to make a belated appearance on the scoreboard, he hurled his racket skywards in celebration. There was more joy for Bagnis in the next game as Alcaraz, his focus momentarily wavering, dropped serve to love. Predictably, it proved short-lived.
Elsewhere in the men’s draw, ninth seed Taylor Fritz advanced to a third-round meeting with Denis Shapovalov courtesy of a 6-4, 6-1 win over Emilio Nava, a 21-year-old American wild card ranked 182nd. Alexander Zverev was an early casualty, however, the former world No 2 committing 32 unforced errors as he fell 6-0, 6-4 to Taro Daniel of Japan.
“In the first set he was struggling and I just didn’t want to let him get his rhythm back,” said Daniel. “Sometimes it’s a matter of letting them keep playing badly. It’s a little bit of a dirty fight.”
The biggest shocks were reserved for the women’s draw, where Jabeur, the fourth seed, was once again an early casualty following last week’s loss to Marketa Vondrousova in Indian Wells. The Tunisian, continuing her return from knee surgery was beaten 6-2, 6-2 by Russian qualifier Varvara Gracheva, the world No 55.
“The plan was, of course like all matches, to be as stable as possible, to try to make her work as much points as possible, and of course wait for comfortable ones to attack,” said Gracheva following her third top-10 win of the season.
Caroline Garcia, the fifth seed and WTA Finals champion, was beaten 6-2, 6-3 by Sorana Cirstea. The Romanian world No 74 also defeated her in Indian Wells.
Bianca Andreescu, the former US Open champion, won an epic contest against Maria Sakkari, taking down the seventh seed 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in a contest spanning three hours and four minutes.
“I think it’s just another step in gaining most of my confidence back,” said Andreescu, whose career has been blighted by injuries since her victory at Flushing Meadows in 2019. “I’m feeling really good on the court.
“I’m trying to be as fearless as I can be. It’s not always easy, but I feel like I’m getting there, and wins like this obviously help with that because at this point I think it’s just me getting matches in and playing tough rounds like this and knowing I can win.”