Carlos Alcaraz couldn't lead Spain past Belgium as the Spaniard lost with Rebeka Masarova against David Goffin and Elise Mertens at the 2023 Hopman Cup.
Carlos Alcaraz surprised many by following up on his promise to play the Hopman Cup. Most of the surprise came due to the fact that he was basically on the court not even a week ago in London. He was contesting the Wimbledon final, a match that he was able to win against Novak Djokovic.
The triumph is by far the greatest of his career, and one would expect a bit of celebration or relaxing time after such a win, but no, not when it comes to Alcaraz. He went home but made his way to Nice just a couple of days after that for some Hopman Cup action.
Despite a slow start against David Goffin earlier today, Alcaraz produced a really solid effort to defeat the Belgian in three sets. The victory gave Spain a chance to still win the tie as Mertens defeated Masarova earlier today.
They needed to win the mixed doubles match to get it done, the first mixed doubles match of Alcaraz's career. It was an interesting one though a tough prospect, as Mertens was by far the best doubles player out of the four. It showed at various times in the match, as the Spaniards simply lacked the cohesion to get it done.
The sets were entertaining, as we saw plenty of breaks on both sides. Alcaraz and Masarova went 0/9 behind their second serve in the opening set, and that was always going to be trouble. They were broken four times in the 3-6 opening set.
The second one was a bit closer, but similar problems persisted. They were broken twice while they didn't use any of their chances and that was enough for the Belgians to win the match 6-3 6-1 and tie 2-1.
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