Luca Nardi surrenders head-on to Carlos Alcaraz

Luca Nardi-Carlos Alcaraz 1-6 6-4 3-6

Luca Nardi leaves Doha with his head held high. In the round of 16 of the 'Qatar Exxon Mobil Open', the Marche player surrendered only in three sets to world number three, and one of the seeding, Carlos Alcaraz, who è imposed himself with the final score of 6-1 4-6 6-3 after an hour and fifty-two minutes of play.

The first set started uphill for the blue who suffered the break in the opening game, confirmed by Alcaraz (2-0). Nardi bailed out in the third game, managing to move the score (1-2), but from then on the Spaniard strung together a run of four consecutive games with which he won the first set (6-1).

In the second set, the script seems identical with Alcaraz immediately flying ahead 4-1: here però comes the reaction of Nardi, who racks up five consecutive games, winning 17 of the last 21 points of the partial and dragging the challenge to the third and decisive set.

In the last partial to decide the challenge è a single break, scratched by the Murcian in the fourth game (3-1) at the second useful opportunity, thanks to a backhand error of the pesarese. Alcaraz struggles to confirm it, but leaves the crumbs in the last two service turns, earning him access to the quarterfinals where he will find Czech Jiri Lehecka.