Carlos Alcaraz with NBA star Jimmy Butler© AFP
After Carlos Alcaraz sent Martin Cilic when the Qatar Open was opened on Monday, he dwell on the field to play some balls with a spectator – the NBA star, Jimmy Butler. Alcaraz took his time to find his pace during a bitter night, but finally overcome the Croatian veteran 6-4, 6-4, then faced Butler. The 35 -year -old goalkeeper, recently exchanged at the Golden State Warriors, chose not to stay on the verge of the bay while he welcomed the National Basketball Association’s stars match on Sunday. Instead, he flew to the Gulf and was in the crowd to see Alcaraz win.
Butler then came to the court. The two men put on microphones as they offered a short spectacle for fans. Butler even tried to return an Alcaraz lob with a shot between the legs – but missed.
Against the 36 -year -old Cilic, Alcaraz was stronger at moments. The first set shot an 18 -minute seventh game that ended with Alcaraz by winning the service he needed.
In the second set, Alcaraz fell 0-40 behind the service in the eighth game. He answered by taking 15 of the following 19 points to win the match in an hour, 38 minutes.
“I’m really happy to save this match,” said Alcaraz on the field. “Marin puts a lot of pressure when you serve, he is a great turn maker. I’m really happy to stay calm at that time, to do my routine and make good shots. I’m really happy to win in two sets . “
He will face Zhang Zhizhen or Luca Nardi in the second round.
Cilic was in competition in his first event since knee surgery in November
Jiri Lehecka beat the seventh seeded Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-4. It was the 11th Czech victory in 2025, tied for the ATP tour with Alex de Minaur and Miomir Kecmanovic.
(This story has not been published by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a unionized flow.)
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(Tagstotranslate) Carlos Alcaraz Garfia (T) Tennis NDTV Sports
