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World no. 3 Carlos Alcaraz is chasing his first indoor ATP title in Rotterdam. The four-time Major winner passed two obstacles and reached the quarter-final. Carlos did not like his performance in the opening match, buteverything settled down for him in the second.
When the Spaniard smiles and hits incredible shots, he is very tough to beat! However, Alcaraz is prone to focus drops. The young gun suffered a couple of tough losses in 2024 after losing ground and his focus.
The four-time Major winner worked on that element of his game during the off-season, although we haveyet to see the improvements on the court. Carlos experienced a couple of poor periods against Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open and lostin four sets.
Alcaraz faced Botic van de Zandschulp in the first round in Rotterdam and scored a 7-6, 3-6, 6-1 victory in two hours and 34 minutes. The Spaniard did not like his performance in the opening two sets, experiencing ups and downs and seeking improvements ahead of the second clash.
Carlos delivered them and ousted Andrea Vavassori 6-2, 6-1 in 63 minutes! There was nothing wrong with the Spaniard's game as he overpoweredthe Italian on serve and return. World no. 3found the first serve and dropped nine points in his games.
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The favorite denied the only break point and challenged his rival to follow those numbers. Seventeen service winners aside, nothing worked in Andrea's game. He sprayed 27 unforced errors and lost the ground from the baseline.
Carlos took charge on the return and stole 54% of the points. He turned them into fivebreaks from eight opportunities, maintaining his focus from start to finish as he wished ahead of the duel.
"I have been working on maintaining my concentration. I had many ups and downs in the opening match in Rotterdam, and I tried to prevent that in the second round. I achieved that, and it makes me happy. I needed that improvement, and I brought it today.
I felt great on the court," Carlos Alcaraz said.
