Alcaraz: ‘I’m really happy with the level’

Carlos Alcaraz is feeling well after reaching the second round of the China Open with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in his opening Beijing match Friday.

“I'm really happy with the level that I played today,” Alcaraz said. “It wasn't an easy match. Difficult to get the rhythm from the baseline.”

Alcaraz secured breaks in the opening games of both sets and won the match without dropping sets. But the second seed was tested by the big-serving, big-hitting Frenchman. Mpetshi Perricard held three break points when Alcaraz tried to close out the first set. Even though he saved them and eventually got out of trouble, the Spaniard admitted it was a tough matchup for him.

“I think I did what I had to do: put some returns in, put some pressure on his service game, play good points when I had the chance from the baseline,” Alcaraz said.

“I was able to return a lot of serves, but just had one break point. Coming from love-40, I know that every return game for me is really tough. For me, saving three break points and being able to close the first set, it was really important for me.”

Playing in the capital city of China for a second consecutive year, Alcaraz was full of praise for the tournament after his win.

“This tournament, for me it's really good. We have a lot of facilities. The gym is pretty good, the locker rooms, the areas, the player lounge. Everything is pretty good for the players,” he shared.

“The fans, the people here are so kind. They are always trying, finding the ways to help us, make feel us as comfortable as they can.”

Here with the fans, here in Beijing ???

VAMOS Beijing! ?@carlosalcaraz | @ChinaOpen | #ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/tSzaHF23OQ

The Spaniard will now play Tallon Griekspoor in the second round. He has won all three meetings in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head Series.

Before the tournament, Alcaraz became the third singles player to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. The season finale will be played at Inalpi Arena from 10-17 November.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]