Carlos Alcaraz drops set but manages victory against Fabio Fognini to advance into quarter-finals of Rio Open

Carlos Alcaraz continued his title defence at the Rio Open after defeating Fabio Fognini to reach the quarter-finals in a rollercoaster match that lasted two hours and 47 minutes. In what was a rematch of last year's semi-final, Alcaraz got over the line with a 6-7(5) 6-2 6-4 victory. Ad The opening set took over 64 minutes to finish with eight breaks of serve, before Fognini was able to edge the tie-breaker.

Tennis'My main rival is still Nadal' — Djokovic 'cannot call' Alcaraz bigger rivalA DAY AGO Alcaraz eventually found his rhythm in the second set, breaking twice to take it to a decider before breaking twice again to seal the match. «It was really tough. Both Fabio and I played such a high level, great points, great shots,» Alcaraz said after his victory.

«It's amazing to play these kinds of matches. I would say both players played almost our 100 per cent. »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," the Spaniard continued. «I got a little bit down in that moment, and it was tough to come back 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.» Alcaraz won the Argentina Open title last week against Cameron Norrie after only dropping one set throughout the whole competition. The Spaniard, who defeated Mateus Alves 6-4 6-4 in his first match in Rio de Janeiro, will now face Dusan Lajovic, who claimed victory over Laslo Djere in straight sets in his second round match.