Carlos Alcaraz Complains About the Conditions in Cincinnati After Surviving a Huge Scare in the Opening Match

Carlos Alcaraz will face Serbian star Hamad Medjedovic in the third round of the Cincinnati Open.

Carlos Alcaraz Complains About the Conditions in Cincinnati After Surviving a Huge Scare in the Opening Match

Carlos Alcaraz (via X/ATP)

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Carlos Alcaraz battled hard to secure a three-set win over Damir Dzumhur in the second round of the Cincinnati Open. The World No. 2 was competing for the first time since he lost to Jannik Sinner in the final of the Wimbledon in July. He complained about the conditions of the court after his opening match victory.

Alcaraz took a longer path to reach the third round than his arch-rival Sinner did on Saturday (August 9). The second seed played excellent tennis in the first and was looking ready to beat Dzumhur in less than an hour after winning the first set 6-1 in just twenty-eight minutes on the court.

But after that, the reigning French Open champion let errors creep into his game, hitting poor drop shots and service games. That led his Bosnian opponent to take charge of the match, taking the game to the net after each serve and pushing for longer rallies. He claimed the second set 6-2, forcing the match to a deciding set.

However, Alcaraz regrouped in the third set as he found his firepower and forehand shot precision, while denying his opponent a chance of any comeback when he led 4-1. He went on to win the match 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 in an hour and 41 minutes to seal his place in the third round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

During his on-court interview, the Spaniard was asked why he dropped the level of his game in the second set despite his perfect first set display. The 22-year-old revealed that the courts are faster than usual and that it is difficult to play tennis on those kinds of conditions.

Here it is difficult to play such great tennis. The ball flies a lot, goes super fast. You have to be ready to be in a good position for each shot and that is really difficult to do. You have to know there will be a few points and games in the match when you won’t feel good, so you have to maintain the positive thoughts in the right way… It is a relief about getting the win.

Since the start of the North American hard-court swing, players have complained about the conditions on the court, especially the humid temperature of the continent. Adding to that is the fact that most players are suffering from fatigue due to the hectic schedule of the tour, particularly with the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open now a 12-day events rather than the usual 7-day format.

Carlos Alcaraz reveals the secret to grinding out a win despite not playing his best tennis

Carlos Alcaraz has now won 12 consecutive ATP Masters 1000 matches on tour. The Spaniard has not lost a match at this tour level since March at the Miami Open. His run of form saw him win the Monte Carlo Masters and the Italian Open in Rome. However, in some of those match victories, he didn’t play his best tennis but still found a way to win.

Carlos Alcaraz Cincinnati Open 2025
Carlos Alcaraz (image via Instagram/Carlos Alcaraz)

During an interview with Tennis Channel, he was asked how he battles to win a match even when not at his best. The Wimbledon runner-up admitted that he always remains positive on the court, even in very difficult matches.

In practice, we talk about being completely focused and thinking positively all the time. If things aren’t going well, I think I should keep doing what I’m doing because eventually I’ll improve, and things will go in the right direction. That’s what I tried to do today: if I’m making a lot of mistakes, I know what my goals are in this tournament, how I approach each match, and I have to stick to that. I know those things will work out in the end.

Alcaraz will now face Hamad Medjedovic in the third round of the Cincinnati Open. The Serbian star stunned Tallon Griekspoor in the second round of the Masters tournament. Alcaraz will now seek to get to the fourth round, which will also see him earn more points as he crashed out in his opening match of the tournament last year.

Also read: Daniil Medvedev Trying to Look up to Iga Swiatek Amid Title Drought: “Playing Much Better Than Me”