Carlos Alcaraz’s title defence on the Rio Open offered by Claro picked up steam on Thursday, however not earlier than a classic opening set from Fabio Fognini threatened the Spaniard’s reign on the Brazilian ATP 500.

In a rematch of their 2022 Rio de Janeiro semi-final, Alcaraz earned an entertaining 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 victory, bettering to 6-0 on the season as he bids to again up his Cordoba title with second trophy in as many weeks on the South American clay.

«It was really tough. Both Fabio and I played such a high level, great points, great shots,» Alcaraz mentioned post-match, later admitting to feeling drained however prepared for extra. «It’s amazing to play these kinds of matches. I would say both players played almost our 100 per cent.»

Alcaraz led 3-0 within the opening set and had two break factors for 4-0 earlier than Fognini stormed again into the match together with his distinctive model of shotmaking, often leaving his opponent and the Rio crowd shocked together with his inventiveness. After breaks in seven of the set’s remaining eight video games, Fognini’s brilliance peaked at 4/5 within the tie-break, when an informal pickup volley got here off inch excellent to spark a run of three factors to seal the set.

«I struggled with my serve a little bit. I was up with a lot of control of the match. But a lot of breaks of serve in a row,» Alcaraz mentioned of the eventful opening set. «I received somewhat bit down in that second and it was powerful to return again after that.

«But I know that a tennis match is really long. I was going to have my chances to improve the game on my serve and I think I did.»

As Alcaraz left the courtroom following the primary set, Fognini had his proper ankle taped. The Italian struggled with the problem early in set two, and this time Alcaraz noticed residence his 3-0 benefit. A second of fine sportsmanship briefly lower the strain as Alcaraz helped Fognini to his ft after the 35-year-old slipped whereas working down a drop shot — a shot each males used to nice impact all through the highlight-filled match.

Despite the autumn, Fognini’s motion improved because the match wore on. Undeterred, Alcaraz constructed a 3-0 lead for the third consecutive set within the decider. While the Italian clawed again to 3-2, he couldn’t generate a break probability in his remaining three return video games regardless of twice mentioning 30/30.

A winner after two hours and 48 minutes on Court Guga Kuerten, Alcaraz will subsequent face the winner of the all-Serbian matchup between Laslo Djere and Dusan Lajovic.

Fognini, who gained all 5 of his break factors, was looking for his first win in his previous 14 makes an attempt towards Top 10 opponents.

Earlier on Thursday, Bernabe Zapata Miralles upset fourth seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-1, 4-6, 6-1. He will subsequent meet fellow Spaniard and seventh seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas within the quarter-finals, after his 6-2, 6-4 win towards Daniel Elahi Galan.

Sixth seed Sebastian Baez additionally progressed to the final eight with a 7-5, 7-6(6) consequence towards Juan Pablo Varillas, organising a gathering with Nicolas Jarry. The Chilean defeated Pedro Martinez 6-2, 6-2 on Thursday.

The fourth Rio quarter-final will see Wednesday winners Cameron Norrie and Hugo Dellien sq. off. Norrie, seeded second, stays on a collision course with Alcaraz for a rematch of their Cordoba remaining.