Misfiring Alcaraz survives Thompson scare in Cincinnati

:Carlos Alcaraz battled past unseeded Australian Jordan Thompson 7-5 4-6 6-3 to reach the Cincinnati Open third round on Tuesday as the world number one wobbled again in his build-up to the U.S. Open starting later this month.

An off-colour Alcaraz trailed midway through the opening set which was briefly halted by rain, but the 20-year-old recovered to break Thompson's serve having squandered eight opportunities earlier and clawed his way back to 4-4 with a hold.

The reigning Flushing Meadows champion, who crashed in the Toronto quarter-finals last week, pounced again for a 6-5 lead before wrapping up the set but was under immediate pressure in the next as Thompson raced ahead 5-2.

Alcaraz won the next two games but his comeback fizzled out as he continued to struggle on his serve and forehand to allow world number 55 Thompson to force a third set.

An early break handed Alcaraz the advantage in the decider and the Spaniard slowly returned to his dominant best to claim his 50th tour level win of 2023 in a little over three hours.

"It wasn't an easy match but I found my best level at the end," Alcaraz said. "We were waiting around all day to play the match and when you step on court you have to start with the rain, so it wasn't easy.

"But you have to find a way to win these matches in this type of situation."

Earlier, title holder Borna Coric beat American Sebastian Korda 7-6(5) 6-4, while another home hope Taylor Fritz survived a first-set thriller to beat Czech Jiri Lehecka 7-6(14) 6-2.

Croatian Coric crashed out in Toronto in the opening round but produced a pristine display in Cincinnati with few unforced errors, wrapping up the match that began on Monday but was suspended due to bad weather.

Korda, who has suffered a handful