A poor level from me: Alcaraz out in Miami second round
22-Mar-2025 01:19 PM 3504
Florida, Mar 22 (Reporter) A blunt Carlos Alcaraz said he played at "a poor level" in his surprise Miami Open second-round defeat by David Goffin. Four-time major champion Alcaraz struggled for consistency in a 5-7 6-4 6-3 loss to Belgium's world number 55 Goffin, the BBC reported. Spain's Alcaraz had won the Miami Open title in 2022 and reached the semi-finals at Indian Wells last week. "I thought I was going to play really good tennis but it didn't happen," Alcaraz, 21, said. "I didn't feel well in my legs - I wasn't injured, I wasn't sick. I was feeling perfectly before the match," he said. "In general, it was a poor level from me," Alcaraz said. By contrast, Novak Djokovic snapped his three-match losing streak with a 6-0 7-6 (7-1) victory over Australia's Rinky Hijikata. Alcaraz committed 42 unforced errors against Goffin, who is the first player outside the top-30 to beat the world number three. "It's that kind of night that I will remember for sure - against Carlos and in a stadium like that," Goffin said. Fourth seed Djokovic raced through the first set without dropping a game and although he was made to work harder in the second, still won in a little over an hour and 20 minutes. The Serb, who received a bye in round one, will face world number 69 Camilo Ugo Carabelli of Argentina in the next round. Build-up to the tournament has been dominated by news that the Professional Tennis Players' Association (PTPA), co-founded by Djokovic, has begun legal action against tennis' governing bodies. However, in his first match in Miami since 2019, the 37-year-old showed no signs of being distracted as Hijikata was swiftly swatted aside. The 24-time Grand Slam champion broke in the second game of the match and never looked back, winning the first set to love in 28 minutes. It was more of a contest in the second, but Djokovic dominated in the tie-break to move a step closer to a seventh Miami Open title. "I was playing really well, I mean on a very high level from the beginning, I knew exactly what I wanted to do tactically," he said. "Obviously it's just the first match but the way I felt on the court and the way I played is really encouraging." Elsewhere, seventh seed and former champion Daniil Medvedev was stunned 6-2 6-3 by Spain's Jaume Munar. The Russian made 32 unforced errors as he was brushed aside by world number 56 Munar. Casper Ruud also had a scare, but the Norwegian came from a set down to claim a 3-6 6-4 6-4 victory over Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic. Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov saw off Federico Cina of Italy 6-1 6-4 but, having claimed his first win since 2022 earlier this week, Australia's Nick Kyrgios lost 7-6 (7-3) 6-0 to Karen Khachanov...////...
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