The second round match of the Cincinnati Masters 1000 between Carlos Alcaraz and Frenchman Gael Monfils was suspended on Thursday due to rain, with the Murcia native having the advantage. The match will resume on Friday at 6.30pm (Spanish time) weather permitting.
The match was called off after 8:30 p.m. (local time) in Cincinnati, after a delay of almost 120 minutes awaiting better conditions. The organizers finally decided to cancel the match and wait until Friday, despite the possibility of rain.
Alcaraz returns to the track after winning the silver medal at the Paris Games
Carlos Alcaraz returned to competition after winning the silver medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after losing to Novak Djokovic and fulfilling one of his dreams, playing alongside Rafa Nadal in the Olympic doubles draw.
In his return match, Alcaraz won the first set 6-4. The second set was much more even when rain forced the match to be interrupted with a 6-6 score and 1-3 in the tie-break for Monfils (46), after one hour and 25 minutes of play.
General view of the track at the meeting.
DYLAN BUELL / AFP
If the Murcian ends up winning, he will have to do a double and play his round of 16 match also on Friday against the Dane Holger Rune, number 16 in the world rankings and one of the main absentees at the Paris Games along with the Italian Jannik Sinner. The Spaniard was a finalist in Cincinnati in 2023 and, as in the Olympic final, he also fell to the Serbian Novak Djokovic (2).
Cincinnati is the last major stop for the ATP before the US Open, where Alcaraz could complete an unforgettable season after having already won two Grand Slams in 2024: Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
Ferrero to Alcaraz: “Look for a simple serve”
In the match this morning, Monfils was unable to keep up with his opponent, so the match was headed for a quick resolution as Alcaraz sealed the first set after just 32 minutes (6-4). Alcaraz won three games to love on his serve and only lost four points in total on his serve in the entire opening set. However, Monfils clearly improved in the second set (especially on his serve) and his moment came with 0-40 and 2-3 in his favour, which were his first break chances in the entire match.
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“Take it easy with your serve,” Juan Carlos Ferrero told his pupil and Alcaraz, more erratic than at the start of the match, responded with three points in a row, saved another break opportunity from Monfils and finally kept his serve (3-3). The twists and turns did not end for an uncomfortable Alcaraz, who wasted two break points at 4-4 and also had to save a set point to overcome the 5-6.
Already in the tie-break, the player from El Palmar conceded two mini breaks and recovered one of them before the rain forced everything to stop.
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