ATP world number two Carlos Alcaraz got his Australian Open title challenge off to a fiery start as he saw off veteran Richard Gasquet in a 7-6 (5), 6-1, 6-2 straight sets victory. While the 20-year-old Spaniard took an hour and 12 minutes to clinch the first set in a tiebreaker, he brushed his 37-year-old opponent aside in the next two sets, taking just another hour to wrap up the win.
“Every set, I played better and better,” Alcaraz remarked following the match. “In the end, I played at quite a good level.” Gasquet put up a strong fight in the final game of the match, taking Alcaraz to deuce five times as he served for the match.
Last year’s Wimbledon champion, Alcaraz is seeking his first Australian Open triumph, looking to unseat reigning champion Novak Djokovic, who won his first-round match against Dino Prižmić 6-2 6-7 (5) 6-3 6-4. Alcaraz next faces Lorenzo Sonego on Thursday.
