Carlos Alcaraz needed a comeback, but only in the second set, to complete a straight-sets win in his first match at the 2024 Cinch Championships.
The draw at the Queen's Club was quite ruthless to the young Spaniard, giving him the world no. 26, Francisco Cerundolo in the opening round, and possibly Jack Draper, who just won the Stuttgart Open, in round two.
However, Alcaraz showed why he's currently the second highest-ranked player on the ATP Tour in his opening match at the 2024 Cinch Championships, dominating from the start, and despite a small lapse, dominating again.
In the opening set, he was on fire. In his first three service games, the three-time major winner lost only two points, and thanks to breaking his opponent's serve twice, he was leading 5-0 already after 18 minutes of play.
The world no. 2 then missed out on winning the first set with a bagel, after his opponent saved a set point when serving to stay in the set. Still, that didn't bother the 21-year-old, who won the opening set in the following game, 6-1.
In the second set, however, the reigning Wimbledon champion didn't start well at all, immediately losing his serve and facing a 0-3 deficit, which his Argentinian opponent kept to lead 4-1 and later also 5-2.
However, when it came to serve out the set, Cerundolo wasn't able to do that, losing his serve to 15, and he also couldn't use any of the three set point offered in the following game.
After saving those, Alcaraz appeared to be unbeatable, winning eight of the following nine rallies and as a result, winning also his opening match at the 2024 Cinch Championships, 6-1, 7-5.
Now, he will be waiting to see whether his second-round opponent will be recent Stuttgart Open winner Draper, or clay-court specialist Mariano Navone.
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