Playing his first match since sustaining a leg injury in the Barcelona final, Carlos Alcaraz kicked off his Internazionali BNL d’Italia campaign with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Dusan Lajovic on Friday afternoon. Alcaraz, who was unable to take part at the Madrid Masters, looked good physically while advancing in one hour and 22 minutes.
The Spaniard fired 20 winners and broke serve four times. He is now 5-0 lifetime against Lajovic and 11-0 in total sets.
Alcaraz is bidding for his first Rome title in what is only his second appearance at the Foro Italico. His only previous trip to this tournament came in 2023, when he was stunned by Fabian Marozsan in the third round.
“The body is feeling great,” Alcaraz noted. “I moved well and made a few good sprints today without any pain and that is great. It was a test for me and I think I passed the test. I tried to feel more comfortable on the court. Moving and not thinking about the injury.”
The 22-year-old will go up against Laslo Djere in the third round on Sunday.
Also advancing on Friday were Lorenzo Musetti, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Arthur Fils, and Karen Khachanov. Fils picked up an especially impressive 6-2, 6-2 win over an in-form Tallon Griekspoor. The biggest upset on the schedule saw Italy’s Francesco Passaro knock off No. 14 seed Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 6-3.
nice one, Carlos