Carlos Alcaraz goes past Luca Nardi to reach quarterfinals at Qatar Open

Carlos Alcaraz bested Luca Nardi by 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the ongoing Qatar Open on Wednesday. The Spaniard was looking all set to win in straight sets when he was leading by 4-1 in the second set but lost five games on the bounce against the Italian.

Alcaraz admitted Nardi lifted his level and was playing like a World No.1 but he was able to get his focus back in the third and final set in the ongoing ATP 500. The four-time Slam champion sealed the win in one-hour, and 53-minutes.

“At 4-1, 40/40 [in the second set], he played a few good points and then it seemed like he started to play like the World No. 1,” said Alcaraz after his maiden Lexus ATP Head meeting with Nardi. “I couldn’t do anything, I just tried to stay there, stay strong mentally. My energy levels probably went down a little bit, but credit to him. I’m really happy [that I] forgot everything and restarted in the third set.

“It was a good level mentally, I was really strong. I just tried to [let him know] that I’m there, screaming ‘Vamos’, to push me up and get the good energy again. I played really good tennis in the third set, but I’m really proud of my energy levels in that set.”

On the other hand, Matteo Berrettini defeated Tallon Griekspoor by 7-6(4), 6-7(6), 6-4 to advance in the tournament. The Italian was delighted with his mental toughness after the win against the Dutchman.

“I went on court really focused, I wasn’t feeling the ball as well as yesterday,” said Berrettini, who defeated two-time champion Djokovic on Wednesday for his first-career win over the former World No. 1. “I fought really hard [across] three sets. [I made] a couple of mistakes in the second-set tie-break, but I kept fighting. I’m really proud of my mental toughness.”

Carlos Alcaraz will next face Jiri Lehecka whereas Berrettini will take on Jack Draper.