ATP Rio: 16-year-old Carlos Alcaraz with a monster premiere
Carlos Alcarez won his first match on the ATP tour. The only 16-year-old Spaniard defeated Albert Ramos-Vinolas in a true marathon at the 500 event in Rio de Janeiro.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Feb 18, 2020, 11:59 am
If you are sniffing ATP air for the first time, then it is also with the full program: Carlos Alcarez, tender 16 years old, had slipped into the main field of the ATP Tour 500 tournament in Rio de Janeiro thanks to a wildcard. And he played his entry fee against his Spanish compatriot Albert Ramos-Vinolas at the first appearance. 7: 6 (2), 4: 6 and 7: 6 (2) was the result after a playing time of 3:36 hours, the teenager wouldn't have needed that much drama at his debut.
The next good news from Alcarez's point of view: His upcoming opponent, Argentinian qualifier Federico Coria, will not be much fresher in the second round encounter on Wednesday. Coria won out against Corentin Moutet in the tie break of the third set, as did Cordoba champion Cristian Garin against Andrej Martin.
Alcarez plays like Federer
The biggest excitement of the opening day was Alcarez, who was ranked 406 in the world ranking before Rio. Especially since the match against Ramos-Vinolas didn't end until three in the morning local time. The big stage is new to Carlos Alcarez, but not the feeling of winning: The Spaniard has already played three tournaments this year, two of them won and won in 14 of 15 matches. However, all at the ITF 15,000 level. Last year, however, Alcarez had already reached the quarter-finals of the ATP Challenger tournament in Seville, beaten by Yannick Hanfmann on the way there. And before that in Alicante Jannik Sinner .
"I like to play very aggressively, with lots of wins," said Carlos Alcarez in Rio de Janeiro. "My style is more or less that of Roger Federer , getting on the network aggressively and playing many stops." Alcarez is coached by Juan Carlos Ferrero, who is full of praise for his protégé. "He has the level, the speed, he gets physically stronger every day - I think he can be one of the best," said Alexander Zverev's former coach. "I have a lot of experience with what is coming up and give him my best possible advice."