Aus Open 2024: Carlos Alcaraz battles past Italy's Lorenzo Sonega to reach Round 3

On Thursday (Jan 18), Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz battled past Italy's Lorenzo Sonega in the second round of the men's singles to proceed ahead. Now, Alcaraz will face Chinese teenager Shang Juncheng in the third round, who beat Indian star Sumit Nagal. It wasn't an easy game for Alcaraz who was given a run for his money in a pulsatingn affair at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne Park. Nonetheless, the Spanish star held his own to overcome the challenge and go ahead by virtue of a 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) scoreline.

Talking about the contest, Alcaraz started off on an expected note. He won the first set 6-4. However, it wasn't easy going for him from thereon. His Italian opponent Sonega showed a lot of energy on court and pocketed the second set in the tiebreaker, winnnig 7-6 (7-3). The third set saw Alcaraz rise up to the challenge and winning it 6-3 as Sonega lost the gained momentum. In the fourth and penultimate set, the competition intensified once again as it went to the tiebreaker where Alcaraz had the last laugh.

It was an evenly-contested affair where Alcaraz made a mark with his aces (12-10) but Sonega gave him a tough run in terms of service (98-93) and games (21-18) points won. Alcaraz, who already has two Grand Slam titles under his belt, will now square off with Juncheng. The Chinese teenager entered the third round with an impressive win over Nagal, winning 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.