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Carlos Alcaraz Advances to Last 16 at Qatar Open with Win Over Marin Cilic
Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz secured a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Croatia’s Marin Cilic to reach the round of 16 at the Qatar Open.
Cilic, the 36-year-old 2014 US Open champion, was playing his first match of the season after recovering from a long-term knee injury. The Croatian, ranked 192nd, led 4-3 and was up 0-40 on Alcaraz’s serve in the second set. However, the Spanish four-time major winner regained control and broke in the following game.
“I’m just really happy that I stayed calm at that moment – breathing, going through my routines, making good points,” Alcaraz said. “That’s why I was able to win in two sets.”
Alcaraz will now face either China’s Zhang Zhizhen or Italy’s Luca Nardi in the next round.
Earlier, seventh-seeded Grigor Dimitrov was defeated 6-4, 6-4 by Jiri Lehecka.
Also on Monday, eighth-seeded Jack Draper of Britain beat Australia’s Alexei Popyrin 6-2, 7-6 (4), setting up a meeting with fellow Australian Christopher O’Connell.
Several top players will begin their matches on Tuesday. Second-seeded Alex de Minaur faces Roman Safiullin, while Novak Djokovic, who withdrew from his Australian Open semifinal due to a hamstring injury, will play Matteo Berrettini. Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, and Stefanos Tsitsipas will also take to the court on Tuesday.
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