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| In his Rome debut, Alcaraz defeats Ramos-Vinolas with ease before the match is stopped by rain |
On a rain-soaked Saturday in Rome, world number two Carlos Alcaraz (20) made his Italian Open debut after overcoming a slow start to defeat unseeded Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas (35) in the second round with a score of 6-4, 6-1.
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Prior to Roland Garros, champion of Barcelona and Madrid Alcaraz, who is vying for his fifth championship of 2023 and fourth on clay, overcame a service break early on at the Foro Italico to tie the first set at 2-2.
In a tense 10th game, Alcaraz, who got a bye in the first round, won another opportunity to break Ramos-Vinolas with a superb drop shot. He then took the lead in the match when his compatriot eventually buckled under the strain and hit a forehand long.
Alcaraz kept up the momentum and quickly took the lead 3-0 against a tiring Ramos-Vinolas in the second set. She then closed out the match on serve to make it 12 straight victories.
"It wasn't easy," admitted Alcaraz, who will now surpass Novak Djokovic into the number one slot in the rankings on May 22.
Every tournament's opening round is really difficult, and Ramos-Vinolas is obviously an expert on clay. To succeed, I had to swiftly modify my strategy.
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"The conditions weren't easy, the rain and waiting all day to know if I was going to be able to play... but I'm really happy with my performance in the end."
Andrey Rublev, the Monte Carlo champion, advanced to the third round by defeating Alex Molcan 6-3, 6-4 in a match that was twice halted.
After the fight, the rain returned, and Rublev commented, "I'm glad that I was able to finish just before the rain." "I can rest right now and tomorrow. I don't have to worry about holding off till the afternoon.
Daniil Medvedev, a fellow Russian and Rublev's opponent, won't have that luxury, though, and will be seeking his first triumph in Rome on Sunday against Finn Emil Ruusuvuori after rain caused a late-evening suspension of the match.
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The 2017 winner Alexander Zverev will play David Goffin, and fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will continue his match with Nuno Borges from their previous tie of 6-3, 4-3.
After defeating the 29th seed Petra Martic in the women's draw, qualifier Camila Osorio delivered another surprise when she defeated world number four Caroline Garcia 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the round of 16.
After defeating world number two Aryna Sabalenka in the previous round, Sofia Kenin's comeback streak came to an end when she was unable to overcome Anhelina Kalinina, losing 6-4, 6-2.
Wang Xiyu of China defeated Taylor Townsend with a score of 6-2 0-6 7-5 to go to the WTA 1000 tournament's first round of 16.
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