Sawt Falasteen - Erratic Alcaraz battles through in Cincinnati opening match

The Spaniard, playing his first tournament since a runner-up finish to Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon, raced through the first set but completely lost his way in the second set, dropping his serve twice against the 33-year-old Bosnian.

But he regained his intensity -- and cut down his errors, in the third. Alcaraz fired his seventh ace to set up a match point and advanced to the third round seconds later as his opponent fired wide.

Alcaraz, seeded second claimed his 12th consecutive match at the Masters 1000 level after titles in Monte Carlo and Rome.

"It was a relief to get this win," Alcaraz said after committing 44 unforced errors. "It was a rollercoaster of good feelings and bad feelings.

"I was happy to get the win in the end. I know that I have chances to do better.

"I will use the day off tomorrow to get my confidence back. It was a little tricky, I need to play smart tennis."

Alcaraz, runner-up in Cincy in 2023, added: "It can be difficult to play great tennis here. The ball really flies and goes super fast. There will be some points where you don't feel so good.

"You must maintain positive thoughts and keep going in the right way."

Sixth seed Alex de Minaur, the Washington champion and a Toronto quarter-finalist last week, was bounced by American Reilly Opelka 7-6 (8/6), 6-4, who crushed 14 aces and saved all seven break points he faced.

"I didn't serve as well as I'd have liked to, but everything else was working," said Opelka, who had lost five prior matches against the Australian. "My serve fluctuated and it was a bit of a surprise that the other things came through well for me today."

Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut dismissed Briton Cam Norrie 6-4, 6-3 while number nine seed Andrey Rublev beat American Learner Tien 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.

- Gauff battles through -

In women's action, second-seeded French Open champion Coco Gauff battled through a tough first set to beat China's Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-2.

Gauff, who lifted the trophy in Cincinnati in 2023 and went on to claim her first Grand Slam title at the US Open that year, grinded through a first set marred by five service breaks.

But the seed steadied in the second set to run out the winner in 71 minutes on a first match point.

"It was a rough start," Gauff said. "But it was about just trusting myself and the work we've done in practice.

"I was able to let it all go in the second set."

Third seed Jessica Pegula, runner-up last year to Aryna Sabalenka, defeated Kimberly Birrell 6-4, 6-3.

Seventh seed Jasmine Paolini, finalist last season at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, needed her last-chance match point to cement a 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/5) win over Greek Maria Sakkari.

The Italian winner blew her first five match points and advanced to the third round when Sakkari delivered a double-fault. Paolini also needed five chances to win the opening set.

"It was a rollercoaster," Paolini said. "It's better to go in a straight line in these matches, not up and down," she said. "The key for me was trying not to be in a rush, I tried to hit winners and move her around.

"I served well on the important points but this was not the best performance for me."

Olympic champion Belinda Bencic was upended 6-4, 7-6 (7/0) by Veronika Kudermetova. Eighth seed Emma Navarro was eliminated 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 by German qualifier Ella Seidel.

Q.Bulbul--SF-PST