ATP roundup: Carlos Alcaraz needs three sets to win in Rotterdam

Field Level Media|published: Tue 4th February, 20:57 2025

Jan 22, 2025; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Carlos Alcaraz of Spain hits a forehand during his match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the quarterfinals of the men's singles at the 2025 Australian Open at Melbourne Park. Mandatory Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images

No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain was pushed to three sets before finishing off Dutch wild card Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-1 in the first round of the ABN AMRO Open on Tuesday in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Alcaraz, the third-ranked player in the world, didn't get control of the match until the third set, when he won 32 of 51 total points. Alcaraz faced break point seven times in the match, saving four, while also converting 4 of 9 opportunities to break his opponent.

It was an easier day for third seed Alex de Minaur of Australia (6-2, 6-4 over Belgium's David Goffin), fourth seed Andrey Rublev of Russia (6-3, 6-4 over China's Zhizhen Zhang) and fifth seed Holger Rune of Denmark (7-6 (4), 6-4 over Italy's Lorenzo Sonego).

Pedro Martinez of Spain and Jiri Lehecka and Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic also advanced.

Dallas Open

No. 3 seed and defending champion Tommy Paul rallied from a set down to beat fellow American Jenson Brooksby 6-7 (6), 6-3, 6-4 in first-round action in Texas.

Paul was down 5-3 in the first set, charged ahead with three straight games, but still fell into a tiebreaker situation with Brooksby and lost a back-and-forth battle. Still, Paul pulled out the victory on the strength of saving 6 of 9 break points and winning 45 of 62 first serves (72.6 percent).

Great Britain's Cameron Norrie upset No. 7 seed Alex Michelsen 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-1, saving 11 of 14 break points along the way.

Two other matches were slated for the night session: No. 4 seed Ben Shelton against Australia's Aleksandar Vukic, and No. 2 seed Casper Ruud of Norway against Marcos Giron.

--Field Level Media