Carlos Alcaraz battled through a rain interruption to claim his 50th win of the season, defeating Jordan Thompson 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 on Wednesday at the Cincinnati Open.
The top-seeded Spaniard is bidding for his seventh trophy of 2023 as he prepares for a US Open title defense in less than a fortnight.
His victory took three hours, with the world number one breaking open the third set as he delivered two love games and moved through on a second match point. "I had never played him and the start/stop was not easy," Alcaraz said. "It was not easy to wait for the rain. "He played aggressive, I'm glad to get through.
It was a long day waiting to play and then find rain in the first set. "I had to play my best level at the end; I'm hoping for better conditions in the next round." Alcaraz was tested by number 55 Thompson who now stands 2-16 against Top-10 opponents.