Alcaraz cruises, Tsitsipas scrapes through in Rotterdam

ROTTERDAM: Carlos Alcaraz eased into the quarter-finals of the Rotterdam Open on Thursday with a comfortable straight-sets win over Italian qualifier Andrea Vavassori.

The top-seeded Alcaraz had far too much firepower and accuracy for Vavassori, ranked 317 in the world, running out a 6-2, 6-1 winner in just over an hour. “Today, I think I hit everything pretty well. I´m just hopeful I can keep going and be a bit better next round,” said the Spaniard after the match.

Wearing a breathing aid on his nose as he recovers from illness, Alcaraz got off to a flying start, breaking in the very first game and sealing the set 6-2 as the Italian pushed a forehand wide.

The Spaniard again broke early in the second set, taking the third game with a sumptuous lob. A second break followed quickly afterwards as the Italian double-faulted. Alcaraz wrapped up the match with another break of serve, sending a powerful forehand return to the feet of the Italian, who could only poke it wide.

“I had no ups and downs today which is good for me, something I´m working on,” said Alcaraz. Thursday´s victory was a stark contrast to his first-round match, when he required nearly three hours to dispatch local hero Botic van de Zandschulp.

“The first match of every tournament it´s never easy to get used to the conditions, so I´m just trying to make the most of the time I spent here in the first round,” he said. Alcaraz will face Pedro Martinez for a place in the semi-finals after his compatriot stunned Danish fifth seed Holger Rune 6-4, 6-1.

Earlier Thursday, Greece´s Stefanos Tsitsipas saved a match point and battled from a set down to overcome local hope Tallon Griekspoor in a three-hour marathon. The world number 12 eventually overcame spirited resistance from the Dutchman with a 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (8/6), 7-5 victory in a match lasting around three hours. “I feel like I was here for 10 hours today. I felt like me and Tallon played for ages and I feel like it was a marathon. We started yesterday and finished today,” he joked.