Australian Open: Carlos Alcaraz adsvances third round surviving longest first set

Melbourne: In a bid to complete a career Grand Slam, world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz battled back from a break down in a thrilling  78-minute opening set against Yannick Hanfmann to record his second straight-sets victory at the Australian Open here on Wednesday.

The top seed was put to the test by Hanfmann at Rod Laver Arena before triumphing 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2 in 2 hours and 44 minutes to clinch his second win this year in Melbourne

Alcaraz played the longest first set of his career at the Slams when Hanfmann led 3-1 in the first set and saved two break points at 5-5, later building a 4/3 lead in the tie-break before Alcaraz rattled off four straight points at the Rod Laver Arena. The 34-year-old German was seeking to become the first player outside the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings to defeat Alcaraz at a major.

"Really, really happy that I got through a really difficult first set, and then I started to feel a little bit better on the court with my shots. Tactically I played much, much better, so I’m just happy to have played at a really good level at the end of the match and get through to another round," Alcaraz said. (IANS)

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