Carlos Alcaraz moves past Jordan Thompson in rain-affected Cincy start

WATCH: Carlos Alcaraz defeats Jordan Thompson in the 2023 Cincinnati second round

CINCINNATI, Ohio—For two sets on Tuesday night, it seemed as if the tennis gods of the midwest had conspired to make life as miserable and nerve-wracking as possible for the visiting king of men’s tennis, Carlos Alcaraz.

It was an unseasonably chilly night, made chillier by the wind circling through Center Court. Just as Alcaraz and his opponent, Jordan Thompson, began to play, rain started to fall. Four times the showers seemed to stop; four times the ball kids began to towel off the lines; and four times the rain started up again, just as the players were getting ready to take the court. Alcaraz, kid at heart, spent some of the delay doing the wave with the Cincy fans from under his umbrella.

While he was able to laugh the delay off during the break, the conditions clearly had a negative effect on his play. In the opening set, Alcaraz failed to convert 10 of his first 11 break points. He squandered them with backhands that caught the tape, forehands that sailed long, passing shots that ended up in the bottom of the net, returns that he anxiously pulled wide. Finally, it was Alcaraz who was broken instead.

“It’s not easy to play the last match,” he said, “waiting all day to start the match, and once you step on the court it rains.”

It wasn’t easy to play Thompson, either. Once a garden-variety grinder, the Aussie has elevated himself into the “tricky opponent” category this season. He can charge forward on returns, he can play the net competently, he can take the ball off the short hop, he can change speeds, give you little pace, and bait you into going for too much, and he can run. Alcaraz felt the pressure when Thompson came forward, and he also felt it when Thompson slid the ball low and down the middle and dared him to go for winners.

What Thompson didn’t do was hold a lead. In the first set, he gave his early break back, and was broken again at 5-5. Both times his consistency and confidence abandoned him at exactly the wrong moment. In the second set, Thompson again failed to serve it out, but he was saved by Alcaraz’s poor form and lack of rhythm. Even after Thompson let him back in, Alcaraz couldn’t take advantage.

For the first two sets, Alcaraz tried to keep his cool after each blown break point. He shook his head after a couple of misses. He flashed a wry smile after another. He threw his arms in the air after an easy pass went wide. Finally, early in the third, he got mad and let out a cry of anger. It helped. Defeat was a real possibility now, and that turned him into a more decisive player. He used his power and shotmaking advantage for the first time, and broke Thompson in the opening game. He held out from there for a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 win.

“It was tough, you know, I got to put my best level at the end,” he said.

Next he could face the man who beat him last week in Toronto, Tommy Paul. For now, Alcaraz is happy to move on; he knows that being No. 1 is about surviving in conditions likes these.

“You have to win these kinds of matches,” he said.