World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz found himself trailing in the second set to Croatia’s Marin Cilic, but battled back for a 6-4, 6-4 win Monday in the opening round at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha.
With Cilic — the former World No. 3 — on the verge of taking a 5-3 lead in the second set, Alcaraz rebounded while serving at 0-40 down and notched 14 of the next 19 points to seal the victory. Alcaraz, who saved five of six break points, will face World No. 7 Novak Djokovic of Croatia if both reach the semifinals.
Czech Jiri Lehecka upset No. 7 seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-4, 6-4, taking 35 of 40 first-serve points (88 percent) and saving both break points he faced. Other first-round winners included No. 8 seed Jack Draper of Great Britain, Fabian Marozsan of Hungary and Australia’s Christopher O’Connell.
–Field Level Media
No. 12 seed Mirra Andreeva stormed past No. 2 Iga Swiatek 6-3, 6-3 on Thursday to become the youngest player ever to reach the semifinals at the Dubai Tennis Championships….
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz withstood a charge from qualifier Luca Nardi for a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 victory in the second round of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha on Wednesday….
Seven-time Grand Slam singles champion Venus Williams received a wild-card entry into the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, Calif., the tournament announced Wednesday. Williams, 44, played in two tournaments…
Carlos Alcaraz holds off qualifier’s challenge for win at Doha
Venus Williams, age 44, receives wild card to Indian Wells
No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka upset in Dubai; No. 2 Iga Swiatek advances
WTA ejects Dubai fan ‘fixated’ on Emma Raducanu
Field Level Media - Professional sports content solutions | FLM
