By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday August 9, 2023
Carlos Alcaraz ousted Ben Shelton in a battle of 20-year-olds for his first National Bank Open victory.
Photo Source: Vaughn Ridley/Getty
Carlos Alcaraz is up and running on the North American hard courts, as the Spaniard commenced his march to the US Open with a 6-3, 7-6(3) victory over American Ben Shelton on Wednesday evening at the National Bank Open in Toronto.
The top-ranked Spaniard sets a clash with No.15-seeded Hubert Hurkacz, who defeated Miomir Kecmanovic, 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 on Wednesday.
“I tried to hit my level but it wasn’t easy,” Alcaraz said after the win. “I think he was more aggressive than me, since the beginning, to the last ball. I tried to be solid, tried to get my rhythm – I’m really happy to finally get through and have an opportunity in the next round.”
Alcaraz earns his 13th consecutive triumph, dating back to the beginning of the grass court season, in a streak that took him to his second Grand Slam title at the All England Club when he defeated Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final in July.
The 20-year-old wasn’t as stunning on Wednesday night as he was on that memorable Sunday, but he found a way to get past the lightning-fast serving and ground strokes of 41st-ranked Shelton without too much stress.
Alcaraz saved the only three break points he faced in the evening in the first game of the match, then broke Shelton for 3-1 in the first set and never looked back.
The second set was tight, with neither player earning a break point, but it was Alcaraz who coolly navigated the tiebreak to walk off victorious in one hour and 38 minutes.
“Obviously this first round will help me a lot to be more focused in the next round, to put my game together earlier in the match,” he said. “I’m going to try to player better in the next round.”
Around the Grounds, Toronto: Monfils and McDonald Score Big Wins
There were some surprising results on Wednesday in Canada, with Gael Monfils taking out No.4-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas and Mackenzie McDonald trumping No.6-seeded Andrey Rublev.
Monfils was splendid in earning his 350th career hard court win and his first Top 10 victory of the season. The Frenchman, at 36, still has that fifth gear when his body is feeling right. McDonald had little trouble with Rublev in a sterling effort – the American earns his fourth career Top 10 triumph and a date with Milos Raonic in the round of 16.
Resurgent Raonic bombed past Japan’s Taro Daniel, cracking another 15 aces to bring his tournament total to 52 in two rounds. He’s the only Canadian standing on the men’s side.
Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina also joined the party, taking out Alexander Zverev, the No.13 seed, in a lopsided affair, 6-1, 6-2.
Some seeds did hold sway, however. Daniil Medvedev eased past Matteo Arnaldi, 6-2, 7-5, and Jannik Sinner hammered past compatriot Matteo Berrettini, 6-4, 6-3. The No.7-seeded Italian, who faces Andy Murray in the round of 16 on Thursday, improves to 9-0 against Italian players in his career.
See all the scores from Toronto and Montreal here.