By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday February 15, 2023
Carlos Alcaraz earned his first victory of 2023, edging Laslo Djere in three sets in Buenos Aires.
Photo Source: Getty
Carlos Alcaraz made his long awaited 2023 debut on Wednesday in Buenos Aires, coming through a spirited tilt with Serbia’s Laslo Djere to earn his first victory since last November, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.
The 19-year-old World No.2 had been out of action since retiring from the Paris Masters during his quarterfinal with Holger Rune on November 4th of last year. Since then Alcaraz has spent his time recovering from a pair of injuries. First he had to heal a tear in his abdominal wall; second he had to rehab a hamstring injury that he suffered during his Australian Open preparations.
The body is feeling good, and the wait is over now.
More than three months after his groundbreaking 2022 campaign came to an early conclusion, Alcaraz weathered some strong tennis from Djere and some rust of his own accord to notch a satisfying win in his first match on Argentinian soil.
“It’s a great feeling to win again,” Alcaraz said on court after the match. “Has been a lot of time for me with no competition, no matches, just recovering and finally I got my first win of 2023.”
It was by no means a lopsided affair. Credit Djere, a former World No.27 for that. Though the Serb appeared to be suffering from some type of illness or injury, he didn't let it stop him from battling.
After breezing through the first set, Alcaraz struggled to break through in the second as Djere saved all eight break points he faced and eventually came away with the only break of the set to force a decider.
In the third set a determined Alcaraz dropped just five points on serve as he waltzed to the finish line.
The crowd supported the 2022 US Open champion the whole way.
“I’m really happy,” he said after the victory, which took two hours to complete. “I didn’t expect such a great crowd, a great atmosphere behind me, so I can just say thank you to all the fans here in Buenos Aires for the warm welcome that I received and I hope to keep going with this energy.”
Alcaraz will get a day off before facing Dusan Lajovic in the quarterfinals on Friday in Buenos Aires.