World no. 1 Alcaraz loses first match in 2022 without winning a set as he crashes out in Astana
ATP
Carlos Alcaraz is a sensation of the 2022 season and he also held a crazy streak as he had yet to lose a match without winning a set this year before the 2022 Astana Open.
The Spaniard was set to play Holger Rune in the first round of the tournament, but since he withdrew, lucky-loser David Goffin replaced the Dane in the draw.
The Belgian certainly wasn't an easy draw for Alcaraz since he is a former ATP World No. 7 and a very experienced player. Alcaraz had a very good start as he quickly created three chances to break his opponent.
However, he couldn't use any of those, and soon, he was the one facing break points. Yet, the Spaniard remained calm and made sure to use his chance in the next game to get a 2-1 lead in the first set.
However, Goffin was there to stun the World No. 1 player and he showed it in the following four games as he soon turned the score around and was up 5-2.
After the Spaniard held his serve, it was former World No. 7 who was serving for a set but got broken to love. It seemed that the first set would need to be decided in a tie-break, but Goffin added one more break to win the set 7-5.
In the second set, everything went south for the World No. 1. After a few minutes of play, Alcaraz was down 1-5 as his opponent was serving to win the match. However, the Spaniard got one break back, and in the ninth game, he was only two points away from recovering in the match.
Yet, Goffin showed his experience and, in an hour and 48 minutes, eliminated Alcaraz from the 2022 Astana Open after beating him 7-5, 6-3. It was Alcaraz's first straight-sets loss in 2022.
