In Beijing
Alcaraz intimidated Captain Perricard by threatening to reach Beijing with R2
The top seed will play Griekspoor next in the ATP 500
September 27, 2024
Shi Tang/Getty Images
Carlos Alcaraz defeated Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard on Friday in Beijing.
Written by Andy West
Faced with a huge offer on the ATP Tour, Carlos Alcaraz had little time to settle in his latest campaign at the China Open in Beijing.
However, the top seed quickly got used to the power of Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard on Friday at the ATP 500, where he produced a strong performance with a 6-4, 6-4 victory in the first round. Alcaraz broke the Frenchman’s serve in the opening game of each set to defeat his 21-year-old counterpart in 81 minutes.
“The strategy was to file as many returns as possible,” Alcaraz said. “To be honest, it was not easy. He served 230 or 240 [km/h] almost all services. Second set, 210 or 215. So, it was not easy to play against him. He is a really strong player. Great service, great shots from the start. So I had to really focus. That was the plan. Try not to make too many mistakes and play aggressively from the start. ”
Mission accomplished 🚀@CarlosAlcaraz moving forward to Beijing.@ChinaOpen | #China Open pic.twitter.com/AheCkhz4Oz
– ATP Tour (@atptour) September 27, 2024
Alcaraz converted both break points in his Lexus ATP Head2Head debut against Lyon champion Mpetshi Perricard. Although the Frenchman ended the match winning 83 percent (20/24) of the points after his first serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats, his bid for victory was undermined by a lack of success at the start of each set.
“In the first game of the match I came back well and played good points from the baseline,” reflected Alcaraz. “In the first game of the second set, he made three mistakes, so it helped me a lot to break. After that I had to focus more on the next games, and I’m very happy that I did.”
After picking up a win in his third tour-level match against a smaller opponent, Alcaraz improved to 44-9 on the season. The Spaniard, whose qualification for the Nitto ATP Finals was confirmed earlier this week, will face Tallon Griekspoor in the second round.
Alcaraz is looking for a deep run in Beijing to keep up the pressure on Jannik Sinner in the battle to finish as ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF. Alcaraz is currently third in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin but could move above Alexander Zverev into second place by reaching the semifinals in the Chinese capital. He trails Sinner, also in the second round in Beijing, by 2,990 points in the Live Race.
