Even Carlos Alcaraz has tough days on the court. The Spaniard, coming in for his first Melbourne Grand Slam title, faced no trouble in the opening round of the Australian Open. But that smooth ride ended quickly in the first set of his match against Yannick Hanfmann on Wednesday. Still, conquering the trouble, he praised the caliber of his opponent.

Facing the German, Alcaraz had to raise his game against a serve that brought serious fire. Hanfmann’s biggest first serve blasted at 208 km/h, just one slower than Alcaraz’s best of the day. His average first serve speed sat at 188 km/h, again right behind the Spaniard’s. After a shaky start, the Spaniard steadied himself and closed out a 6-3, 6-2 win in two hours and 44 minutes.

“We’ve played a few times already,” Carlos Alcaraz said after the match. “We came through the Challengers together. I played Challengers against him, but to be honest, it was tougher at the beginning. I didn’t feel the ball that well, or not as well as I wanted, but the ball was coming like a bomb, you know?”

“Forehand, backhand, serve, everything. So I had to be really ready for that. I’m really happy that I got through a difficult first set, and then I started to feel a little bit better on the court with my shots. Tactically, I think I played much better. I’m just happy to have finished at a really good level and to get to play another round.”

Hanfmann came out swinging, pushing Alcaraz in a nine-minute opening game and earning a break point. The Spaniard survived, but a double fault in the fourth game handed the German a 3-1 lead. Alcaraz broke straight back, yet Hanfmann’s heavy strokes kept him level. At 5-5, Yannik dug deep again, saving two break points with bold hitting and an ace.

The tiebreak had everything. Carlos struck first with a clean backhand to gain a minibreak, only for Hanfmann to answer with a crafty drop shot. They swapped minibreaks again before Hanfmann netted a forehand, giving Alcaraz the set. The 22-year-old roared as his opponent’s return drifted wide. In the second set, Carlos Alcaraz turned the tables, breaking in the fourth game after a missed volley from Hanfmann and cruising from there to the finish.

Surely, it must have been a relief once the match wrapped up. On the other hand, usually he leaves a fun message on the camera at the end, Carlos left a heartfelt one after the match.

Carlos Alcaraz writes a touching message after the match

Alcaraz showed his heart both on and off the court on Wednesday at the Australian Open. After powering past Yannik Hanfmann to reach the third round of the year’s first Grand Slam, the Spanish star turned to the camera with a message that went far beyond tennis.

“Mucho ánimo con lo que está pasando en España,” he wrote on the lens. The message, translating to “Sending you lots of strength during this difficult time in Spain,” was a touching tribute to the victims of the shocking Adamuz train accident.

The 42 people who lost their lives in Sunday’s tragedy were on board when an Iryo high-speed train bound for Madrid derailed near Adamuz, shortly after passing through Córdoba. In a horrifying chain of events, an Alvia train headed toward Huelva collided head-on with the derailed carriages. As of Wednesday, 39 people remain hospitalized.

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Alcaraz was already in Australia when the accident struck back home, but his message carried the emotion of someone who felt every bit of the pain from afar. Now, with his heart on his sleeve and his tennis firing, he’s looking ahead to his fourth career third-round appearance at Melbourne Park. Next up is France’s Corentin Moutet. Can he keep the momentum rolling?