The Wimbledon hero, Carlos Alcaraz, returned to tennis with a straight-set victory over Ben Shelton in Toronto. He arrived at the Center Court for the first match in the evening session and put on a show. It was his debut in Toronto as last year the men played in Montreal. Alcaraz expressed his satisfaction with his debut in Toronto. However, it wasn’t an easy victory for the Spaniard.

Going by the scoreline, a 6-3, 7-6(3) win looks pretty straightforward. But scorelines in tennis are often deceptive, and so was this one. The World No.1 had to battle hard against a hard-hitting Ben Shelton who refused to let his opponent settle in.

Carlos Alcaraz struggled to find momentum against Ben Shelton

Alcaraz struggled to break Ben Shelton’s big serve, and the match was heavily serve-dominated. Alcaraz got only 3 chances to break the opponent’s serve and managed to convert only one, indicating that the American’s serve was at its best. Later, after the match, the Spaniard revealed that players like Shelton are always difficult in the opening round.

Alcaraz said via the Spanish media outlet, Punto de Break, “In the first round, I prefer another type of opponent that gives me more rhythm. But it’s great to have come out of this match unscathed. Ben played a great game. He was more aggressive than me and he caused me problems because he was hitting the ball very hard.” Along with Shelton’s serve, it was the pace of his groundstrokes that rushed Alcaraz, thereby not giving him any rhythm.

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The World No.1 then went on to make a shocking revelation, something that would completely justify Shelton’s performance. He further added, “Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever played anyone who hit the ball as hard as he did today. He wouldn’t let me do my tennis and I had to adapt as best I could.”

Those words from the World No.1 and a two-time Grand Slam champion would mean a lot to Shelton. A big server or big hitter in the first match after a break can be a nightmare, even for the best players in the world. Shelton in fact, was a combination of both the above-mentioned traits. It was also Alcaraz’s first match on hard court since the Miami Open in the first week of April.

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The two-time major champion will now lock horns with Hubert Hurkacz in the round of 16. Hurkacz is another monster of a server and he would like to test Alcaraz’s return similarly. Do you think Alcaraz can continue his winning form and see through Hurkacz? Let us know in the comments.

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