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MADRID — Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz fought back from a set down to beat 41st-ranked Emil Ruusuvuori 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 and avoid an upset in his first match of the Madrid Open on Friday.
His Finnish rival made a great start and was on the verge of going up a break in the second set before Alcaraz was able to turn it around.
Alcaraz clenched both fists and roared “Vamos! Vamos! Vamos!” at the packed stands, and his cry of “Let’s go!” in Spanish again helped motivate him in a difficult spot while revving up his fans.
The Spanish teenager, who turns 20 next week, saved five break points in what turned out to be a critical game to remain level at 3-3 in the second set. In the next game, Alcaraz secured his first break to turn the second-round match in his favor.
Alcaraz jokingly apologized to the partisan crowd for the close call.
“It wasn’t just a scare for them, it was (a scare) for me, too,” Alcaraz said. “I am just happy I could get this very difficult win. … Maybe people think that I should win easily or not get into trouble in matches, but each match is its own world. It was a very hard match. You just have to stay humble and accept the bad moments as they come and try to turn it around.”
Alcaraz, ranked No. 2, arrived from successfully defending his Barcelona Open title last weekend and with a chance to move closer to reclaiming the top spot in the world ranking from Novak Djokovic who, like Rafael Nadal, is out with injury.
Ruusuvuori beat Alcaraz on the hard court of Miami in 2021. Alcaraz won that tournament in Florida a year later before also conquering Barcelona and Madrid during a remarkable season that culminated in his U.S. Open victory.
But Ruusuvuori was not expected to give Alcaraz such a tough test on the Madrid clay with the local fans backing their new idol.
The result was still in doubt until Ruusuvuori sent his backhand into the net and ceded his first service game of the third set. Alcaraz poured it on to increase his advantage.
“It was really tough. I would say I was about to lose,” Alcaraz said. “It was just one point. One of the break points he had at 2-3 in the second set was like a match point for him. Emil played unbelievably. I am really, really happy to get through that.”
Alcaraz will next face Grigor Dimitrov after he beat Gregoire Barrere 6-0, 5-7, 6-3.
Also, third-seeded Casper Ruud lost to Italian qualifier Matteo Arnaldi 6-3, 6-4.
Fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev advanced after seeing off Stan Wawrinka 7-5, 6-4 as the Monte Carlo winner improved to 9-1 on clay this year.
On the women’s side, No. 1 Iga Swiatek eased past Julia Grabher of Austria 6-3, 6-2 after the three-time Grand Slam winner converted three of five break chances.
Swiatek will meet Bernarda Pera after the American was a 6-1, 6-3 winner over Tatjana Maria.
Third-seeded Jessica Pegula, who was a finalist in Madrid last year, got past Polish qualifier Magdalena Frech 7-6 (5), 6-3.
Seventh-seeded Elena Rybakina, the Wimbledon champion, was ousted by Anna Kalinskaya 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, while American Alycia Parks beat Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 7-6 (5).
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