Alcaraz asserts mastery over Medjedovic in Cincinnati Masters

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the next round of the Cincinnati Masters with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic on Aug. 13, 2025, at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Ohio.

For two straight sets, Medjedovic struggled to keep up with Alcaraz’s blistering pace on the hard court, conceding 74 total points generated mostly from his topspin forehand winners.

Alcaraz quickly put his imprint on the game after scoring an early break, followed by a service hold to gain ground and steal momentum.

The Serbian star devised a way to limit Alcaraz’s forehand bombs by countering the topspin with deep ball slices to the baseline, but that only slowed down the favorite’s tempo, not the winning percentage of the shots.

After cruising past Medjedovic in the opening set, Alcaraz committed some costly unforced errors that allowed the Serbian to grasp some air and pile up points.

Medjedovic had some moments midway through the second set when he pummeled back-to-back forehand passing shots that kept him within striking distance.

Not folding under the pressure, Alcaraz answered back with a fiery rally of his own as he salvaged a crucial point to prevent Medjedovic from completing the break point.

The come-from-behind rally propelled Alcaraz to a scoring avalanche after pulling off a break point capped by a quick service hold to seal the deal.

It wasn’t a good service game for either player, as Medjedovic committed eight double faults and Alcaraz had three, but the aces made up for that inefficient stat.

To march to the Round of 16, Alcaraz tallied a total of 12 service aces derived from a 79% win rate on his first serve, supported by 33 return points.

A tough task awaits the five-time Grand Slam winner as he is set to share the center court with Luca Nardi in the next round of the Cincinnati Open.