MADRID: Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz survived a major scare before beating Emil Ruusuvuori in three sets to reach the Madrid Open third round on Friday.
World number two and US Open champion Alcaraz fought back to see off the 41st-ranked Finn 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Alcaraz, fresh from defending his Barcelona title last weekend, will face Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov for a place in the last 16.
The 19-year-old Alcaraz hit 10 aces in his 36 winners but was forced to save nine of 11 break points in the 2-hour 16-minute clash.
Five of those came when he was 3-2 down in the second set.
Fourth-ranked Casper Ruud was upset by Italian qualifier Matteo Arnaldi in the second round. The 105th-ranked Arnaldi beat Ruud 6-3, 6-4 for the 22-year-old’s first win over a top-10 player. After sealing the surprising victory, Arnaldi raised his arms and thumped his chest, smiling broadly.
“Today, I don’t know, maybe the stadium, maybe the pressure on him, but I played the best match of my life,” said Arnaldi, who landed 35 winners and broke Ruud’s serve three times.
Ruud, 24, reached the final of both- the French Open and the U.S. Open last year. But despite winning the Estoril Open in Portugal earlier this month, the Norwegian player has struggled at bigger events in 2023, including a second-round exit at the Australian Open in January.
In other second round matches, 5th seed Andrey Rublev beat Stan Wawrinka 7-5, 6-4, 10th seed Karen Khachanov beat Thiago Monteiro 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, Roberto Bautista Agut beat bear Quentin Halys 4-6, 7-6, 6-3, 17th seed Borna Coric beat Borna Coric 6-3, 6-3, Grigor Dimitrov beat Grégoire Barrère 7-6, 7-6, Yannick Hanfmann beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 7-6.
In women’s section, 7th seed Elena Rybakina stunned by Anna Kalinskaya in the second round. She lost by 5-7, 6-4, 2-6. Alycia Parks shocked 15th seed Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 7-6. Moreover, 16th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova beat Alizé Cornet 7-6, 6-3, Petra Martic beat Laura Siegemund 7-6, 6-3, Bernarda Pera beat Tatjana Maria 6-1, 6-3, 18th seed Martina Trevisan beat Eugenie Bouchard 6-2, 7-5, 12th seed Veronika Kudermetova beat Nuria Parrizas-Diaz 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 to reach the third round. Agencies
Also Watch: