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 tie between Spain and Belgium in Nice 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.
The winner of the tie will be decided by the mixed doubles match.
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