Carlos Alcaraz, the world number one, said he will “learn lessons” from his surprising first-round loss at the Astana Open on Tuesday, where he lost 7-5, 6-3 to Belgian David Goffin. US Open champion Alcaraz lost in straight sets for the first time since November, as Goffin capitalized on his second chance as a lucky loser. “He played better than me, pretty aggressively,” Alcaraz stated. “I couldn’t manage the pressure he was putting on me, and of course, it’s something I need to learn and use from this match.”
Alcaraz, 19, was competing in his first ATP competition since his Grand Slam victory in New York, which made him the youngest world number one.
He subsequently flew to Valencia to play in the Davis Cup, where he won one of his two singles rubbers to help Spain advance to the quarterfinals.
“Coming back to competition is never easy,” Alcaraz explained.
“He [Goffin] played two matches on this court. It’s difficult to adjust to and extremely slow. It had a negative impact on my confidence.
“I attempted to adjust to this court so quickly, but I couldn’t, and he outperformed me in this match.”
Goffin only qualified for the main draw after Danish teenager Holger Rune withdrew. In the round of 16, he will face Adrian Mannarino of France.
“I always believe I have the ability to cause some trouble against those guys,” said Goffin, a former top-10 player now ranked 66th.
“When you play against the world number one in front of a large audience, the fire inside gives you so much force to play your best tennis because you don’t have a choice.
“You have to fight and give your all, and that was the case today. I always believed I had it, and I’m glad you can still find it.”
Goffin, 31, won his third match against a top-ranked player, following victories against Rafael Nadal in 2017 and 2020.
Hugo Gaston of France defeated Alcaraz in straight sets at the Paris Masters last year. In 62 matches this season, he had won at least one set.
Daniil Medvedev defeated Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 6-1 as he bid to secure a spot in the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin.
Third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 6-4.
The Greek is looking for the third title of the season. He won 50 tour-level matches in 2022, breaking Kukushkin once in each set.
“It was a terrific match from my side,” said Tsitsipas, who will face Italian qualifier Luca Nardi in the quarterfinals.
Karen Khachanov won his first match since reaching the US Open semi-finals, defeating American Maxime Cressy 6-4, 7-6 (7/3).
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Novak Djokovic will face Cristian Garin on Wednesday after capturing his 89th career title in Tel Aviv last weekend.
