Alcaraz struggles to beat Van de Zandschulp on his Rotterdam debut

Carlos Alcaraz made his Rotterdam debut with a hard-fought victory over Botic Van de Zandschulp (7-6, 3-6, 6-1).

Weakened by a cold over the last few days, the world No.3 was very inconsistent, against an opponent who had no complexes in front of his home crowd.

Van de Zandschulp had a set point in the first set at 5-4 (missed following a double fault), before Alcaraz regained control of the match in the tie-break.

Caught by his demons, the Spaniard was then broken at 3-2 in the second set after four unforced errors, and embarked on a third set.

A break at the start of the third set allowed Alcaraz to escape, but the world No.3 was in trouble on the Rotterdam court.

In the 2nd round, he will face the winner of the match between Félix Auger-Aliassime and Andrea Vavassori.