Alcaraz defeats Vavassori to reach Rotterdam quarter-finals

Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz, aged 21, advanced to the quarter-finals of the Rotterdam Open on Thursday, achieving a straightforward victory in straight sets against Italian qualifier Andrea Vavassori, who is 29 years old.

As the top seed, Alcaraz demonstrated superior power and precision, defeating Vavassori, currently ranked 317 in the world, with a score of 6-2, 6-1 in just over an hour.

"Today, I think I hit everything pretty well. I'm just hopeful I can keep going and be a bit better next round," said the Spaniard after the match.

Despite wearing a breathing aid during his recovery from illness, Alcaraz started strong, breaking serve in the very first game and concluding the first set at 6-2 after Vavassori sent a forehand wide.

In the second set, Alcaraz broke serve early once more, winning the third game with an exquisite lob. He quickly secured a second break as Vavassori committed a double fault.

The match concluded with another break of serve, as Alcaraz delivered a powerful forehand return that Vavassori could only send wide.

"I had no ups and downs today which is good for me, something I'm working on," said Alcaraz.

Thursday's win was a significant improvement compared to his first-round match, where he took nearly three hours to defeat local favorite Botic van de Zandschulp.

"The first match of every tournament it's never easy to get used to the conditions, so I'm just trying to make the most of the time I spent here in the first round," he said.

Alcaraz is set to compete against fellow Spaniard Pedro Martinez in the quarter-finals on Friday, following Martinez's upset victory over Denmark's Holger Rune in the final second-round match of the day.

On Thursday, Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece saved a match point and rallied from a set down to defeat local player Tallon Griekspoor in a grueling three-hour match.

Tsitsipas is set to compete in the quarter-finals against Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci, who caused an upset by defeating second seed Daniil Medvedev in a lengthy three-set match on Wednesday.

Additionally, last year's runner-up, Alex de Minaur, advanced to the quarter-finals in the lower half of the draw after overcoming Czech teenager Jakub Mensik with a score of 6-4, 6-4.

SportsLigue