World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz came from a set and a break down to beat David Goffin 4-6, 6-4, [10-8] in the Hopman Cup but could not prevent Spain from losing 2-1 to Belgium on Friday.
Playing his first match since beating Novak Djokovic to clinch his maiden Wimbledon title, Alcaraz looked rusty as he struggled to adjust to clay after playing a month on grass and let Goffin dictate the points in the opening set.
World No. 111 Goffin was twice up by a break against the 20-year-old Spaniard in the second set but could not maintain his advantage to close the match as Alcaraz won three straight games from 3-4 to take the match to a super tiebreak.
Goffin began the tiebreaker with a 4-0 lead but yet again, Alcaraz managed to fightback. Eventually, from 8-8, an ace from the the Spaniard and a forehand error from Goffin sealed the deal for Alcaraz and helped Spain stay in the tie after Rebeka Masarova went down 6-7(3), 6-2, [5-10] against Elise Mertens in the women’s match.
“It wasn’t easy, it was a tough match but I’m really happy to come back to claycourts,” Alcaraz said. “It’s a good surface for me and I really enjoyed playing tennis here.
“I felt the energy and the love from the people.”
Alcaraz and Masarova, who replaced the injured Paula Badosa in the squad, were then thrashed 6-3 6-1 by Goffin and Mertens in the mixed doubles rubber.
Spain will next take on Croatia on Saturday.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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