Carlos Alcaraz, the defending champion, advanced to the second round of the US Open on Tuesday when his opponent, Dominik Koepfer of Germany, quit due to an injury during their prime-time match at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The top seed from Spain, 20 years old, was ahead 6-2, 3-2 when Koepfer quit, having twisted his ankle at a grimace-inducing position minutes earlier. In the second round, Alcaraz will face Lloyd Harris of South Africa.
“[Harris] is a great player, he has big shots, so I have to be really focused on the match,” Alcaraz said. “Obviously, it’s going to be a challenge.”
The match rapidly unravelled when underdog Koepfer stopped short along the baseline in the opening game, injuring his left ankle and losing much chance of putting up a fight.
He had a medical stoppage to have his ankle bandaged and returned to the floor with the score at 2-0, although he was obviously not fully recovered. With a well-placed drop shot, Alcaraz comfortably converted a break point.
Koepfer fought off a break point in the third game of the opening set, but was overheard informing his squad that his ankle was in bad health, prompting his camp to debate whether he should continue.
In the seventh game, Koepfer hid his face in his towel after Alcaraz drove him into a forehand mistake to capitalise on a break point opportunity.
Wimbledon champion Alcaraz was in good form, hitting 19 winners with little errors throughout the match, and he broke Koepfer to love in the third game of the second set when the German sent a backhand ball out of bounds.
In the sixth game, Koepfer fended off two break point opportunities before stepping to the net to quit.
“Obviously, I have to give credit to him,” Alcaraz said after the match in on-court statements. “First step on the court, I felt great… the same energy that I had last year.”
After competitor Novak Djokovic destroyed Frenchman Alexandre Muller in his first match Monday, Alcaraz will lose his world No. 1 position after the tournament concludes. Djokovic will replace Alcaraz at the top of the rankings.
More in Sports: https://buzzing.today/sports/
Photo Credits: https://commons.wikimedia.org/