(Miami) World No. 1 and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz qualified for 3e round of the Miami Masters 1000, crushing 6-0, 6-2 the Argentinian Facundo Bagnis (100e), Friday.
The 19-year-old Spaniard only took an hour and four minutes to get rid of his modest opponent, whom he had already beaten for the first time in Umag (Croatia), in 2021, on the way to his very first title on the ATP Tour.
Alcaraz got off to a flying start, winning the first nine points of the game. Also well helped by the unforced errors of his opponent (12 in this round), he managed three breaks in a row to achieve a “donut”.
At the start of the second set, he again took the service of Bagnis, but he suddenly relaxed on his own, the Argentinian managing to unbreak (2-2). Whereupon Alcaraz quickly tightened the bolts to line up the next four games.
The prodigy from Murcia, who will have to keep his title in Miami to stay on the world throne at the end of the tournament, will face in the next round the American Maxime Cressy (37e) or Serbian Dusan Lajovic (76e).
