Carlos Alcaraz suffers end of impressive season streak with shock loss
Carlos Alcaraz has lost in straight sets for the first time this year after being dumped out of the Astana Open in the first round.
The world number one fell to former world number seven David Goffin 7-5, 6-3 in Kazakhstan. He has now lost two of the three matches he has played since clinching his US Open title last month.
Meanwhile his conqueror Goffin has experienced quite the turnaround in 48 hours. He actually lost in the second round of qualifying to world number 152 Italian Luca Nardi, after holding multiple match points.
The Belgian then entered the draw as a lucky loser, replacing Sofia Open finalist Holger Rune to face Alcaraz. The loss for Alcaraz takes him to a 52-11 for the season. As mentioned, his previous 10 losses all came with him claiming at least one set in the match.
Alcaraz’s exit leaves Daniil Medvedev as the highest seed left in the draw. Third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas is safely through to the second round after defeating Mikhail Kukushkin, while fourth seed Novak Djokovic will face Cristian Garin in his first round match.
The moment Goffin recorded a 3rd career win over a World No. 1! 🙌@David__Goffin #AstanaOpen pic.twitter.com/dMC8GhCVsC
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 4, 2022
For 31-year-old Goffin the victory is his first over a top 10 opponent in 2022. It is also just his second win over a top 20 this year, the other coming against Hubert Hurkacz at the Rome Masters in May.
The world number 66 takes on French veteran Adrian Mannarino next in their eighth tour meeting. Goffin leads the head-to-head 5-2 but has lost two of his last three encounters with the Frenchman.
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