Alcaraz stops late Draper come back to advance in Basel

| by Zachary Wimer

Carlos Alcaraz won his first ATP 500 match as world number 1 when he defeated Jack Draper in the first round of the 2022 Swiss Indoors in Basel.

The 20-years-old Brit secured his spot at the 2022 NextGen ATP Finals, that his first round opponent won last year, and was looking to start with a surprising victory in Basel. However, Carlos Alcaraz didn't manage to start well in Astana three weeks ago and wanted to prove his qualities this time.

Alcaraz begins 7th week as number one surpasing Rios, Kafelnikov, Muster
Alcaraz begins 7th week as number one surpasing Rios, Kafelnikov, Muster

Match between the two youngsters started better for Jack Draper who got three break points in the first three games. He managed to use one of those and soon he was up 3-1. Despite facing two break points from the Spaniard in the eighth game, he kept his composure and added one more break to win the first set 6-3 in 43 minutes.

But Alcaraz wants to finish this year as world no. 1 in the ATP Rankings and to do so, he needs good results in Basel, Paris and Turin. His determination was obvious in the second set as he got two quick breaks. Moreover, he never faced a break point in the second set and won it 6-2 in just 34 minutes.

The third set was a big battle between both youngsters. First, it seemed that the Spaniard won't allow his opponent to have any break points again. Alcaraz broke his opponent, got a 4-2 lead and was looking to finish the match soon.

Yet, Draper fought back, won three games in a row and at 4-5, his opponent was serving to stay in the match. But this time, it was Alcaraz's turn to win three consecutive games and advance to the second round of the 2022 Swiss Indoors in Basel.

Nadal, Djokovic eyeing new world record for prize money won at 2022 ATP Finals
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