Carlos Alcaraz overcomes Belgian veteran David Goffin on Hopman Cup debut | Tennis News

NEW DELHI: World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, who recently crowned Wimbledon champion, made a triumphant return to the court after his Grand Slam victory.

In a hard-fought Hopman Cup match against David Goffin on Friday, he exhibited his determination by securing a 4-6, 6-4 (10-8) victory. This crucial win helped Spain level the tie with Belgium at 1-1.
Despite his recent Wimbledon success, the 20-year-old faced challenges on his debut in the mixed team event held in Nice, France. The transition from grass to clay wasn’t entirely smooth for him.

The scorching conditions further added to the difficulty as Alcaraz had to battle against his seasoned opponent, who managed to break his serve twice, leading to a rather straightforward loss of the opening set.
World number 111 Goffin, who defeated Alcaraz the last time they played after the youngster bagged the 2022 U.S. Open crown, broke in the opening game of the next set and consolidated his lead to heap the pressure on his opponent.
Alcaraz responded by clawing back to 3-3 and rode his luck after both players wobbled on serve to level the match at a set apiece before switching on the after-burners from 0-4 down in the wildly swinging super tiebreak to wrap up the victory.
Alcaraz and Masarova, who replaced the injured Paula Badosa in the squad, will face Goffin and Mertens in the mixed doubles rubber later.
Spain take on Croatia on Saturday.
In Friday’s other tie, France and Switzerland were locked at 1-1 as Alize Cornet downed Celine Naef 1-6 6-3 (10-8) before Richard Gasquet slumped to a 3-6 6-3 (10-8) defeat by Leandro Riedi to set up a deciding mixed doubles match.

The winner will reach Sunday’s final after both teams beat a Denmark side featuring men’s world number six Holger Rune.
The relaunched Hopman Cup has returned to the tennis calendar this week after a four-year absence, having lost its spot ahead of the Australian Open as a result of the short-lived ATP Cup men’s team event.
The last edition of the Hopman Cup, which began in 1989 and was named after Australian great Harry Hopman, saw Roger Federer lead Switzerland to the title against Germany.
(With inputs from Reuters)