BUENOS AIRES, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- Spanish top seed Carlos Alcaraz progressed to the quarterfinals of the Argentina Open on Thursday with a 6-2, 7-5 win over local favorite Camilo Carabelli.

The world No. 2 won 70% of his first service points as he took the match in an hour and 45 minutes on the outdoor clay of the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club.

"It was a really tough match," said the two-time grand slam champion, who was playing for the first time since his quarterfinal exit at the Australian Open in January.

Alcaraz lavished praise on his Argentine opponent, who is currently ranked 134th having reached a career-high No. 96 in August 2022.

"He's a really good fighter, a really good player with good rhythm," the 20-year-old said. "I started really nervous, I'm not going to lie, with the crowd behind him, supporting him. I think it's normal, obviously, but I'm really happy with my first match on clay since the French Open. Hopefully I can keep getting better and better."

Alcaraz's next opponent will be Italian qualifier Andrea Vavassori, who beat Serbia's Laslo Djere 6-4, 7-5 earlier on Thursday.

In other round of 16 matches, Argentine Federico Coria defeated Britain's Cameron Norrie and Sebastian Baez, also of Argentina, overcame Italian Luciano Darderi 6-4, 7-5. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)