Carlitos Alcaraz returned to competition two weeks after losing in the quarterfinals of the Open of Australia to Novak Djokovic. He participated in the ABN Amro Open of Rotterdam, where he won against the Dutch player Botic Van de Zandschulp with a score of 7-6, 3-6, and 6-1. The match was challenging, and the track was slower than expected. Van de Zandschulp, ranked 84th in the world, proved to be a difficult opponent, having previously beaten Alcaraz and also defeated Rafa Nadal’s last opponent.
Alcaraz did not perform well at the beginning of the match, accumulating many mistakes and struggling with his first serve, which was only successful about 50% of the time. He was 2-4 down with two breaks against him, indicating that Van de Zandschulp would be a tough competitor. However, Alcaraz managed to recover and save his serve, eventually winning the first set in a tie-break with a score of 7-4.
The second set was closely contested, with both players performing well. Van de Zandschulp made a break in the sixth game, similar to the first set, and went on to win the set 6-3. In the third set, Alcaraz took an early break in the second game after Van de Zandschulp made two double faults. He then confirmed his lead and won the set 6-1, securing the match. Alcaraz will play against the Italian player Vavassori or the Canadian player AUGER-ALASSIME in the next round.
