Carlos Alcaraz has reached the Cincinnati Open quarterfinals after securing a comfortable straight-sets victory over Luca Nardi.
Alcaraz beat Nardi 6-1, 6-4, continuing what has been a promising first tournament back since his defeat in the Wimbledon final.
After losing to his rival Jannik Sinner in the championship match at the All England Club, the Spaniard gave himself more time to recover by withdrawing from the Canadian Open.
The rest looks to have served Alcaraz well, with the world number two making a drastic improvement on his 2024 Cincinnati campaign.
Carlos Alcaraz has set himself up for success at the US Open
At this point last year, he was already out of the tournament, having crashed out in his opening round to ATP veteran Gael Monfils.
Alcaraz had an incredibly busy summer in 2024, emerging victorious at Wimbledon once again before making a run to the finals at the Paris Olympics.
The packed schedule didn’t bode well for him in Cincinnati, and he lost to Monfils 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, in a match where his frustrations boiled over.
With just one tour-level hard-court match under his belt heading into the fourth major of the year, Alcaraz got off to a shaky start at the 2024 US Open, dropping a set in the first round to Li Tu.
In round two, things went from bad to worse for the now-five-time Grand Slam champion when, in one of the biggest shocks of the season, he lost to Botic van de Zandschulp in straight sets.
| Tournament | Result |
|---|---|
| Cincinnati Open | Second Round |
| US Open | Second Round |
This year, Alcaraz was able to step away from tennis for almost a month after Wimbledon, giving himself plenty of time to rest and recover from the grass swing.
Though there are still three more matches to win in Cincinnati, he has already put himself in a much better position for the US Open this time around.
Carlos Alcaraz’s next opponent at the Cincinnati Open
In the last eight, the 22-year-old will come up against Andrey Rublev, against whom he has a winning record at tour-level events.
They first met in the round robin of the ATP Finals in 2023, which went the way of Alcaraz in straight sets.
Rublev opened his account in the rivalry in 2024, winning in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open, before trailing again in the head-to-head at the ATP Finals later that year.
Their most recent clash came in the fourth round at Wimbledon earlier this summer, which Alcaraz won en route to the final.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
