Cilic - Alcaraz: Schedule of the match in Spain and where to watch the Cincinnati Masters 1000 on TV

Carlos Alcaraz turned the page of his setback at the first change in Montreal and achieved an unquestionable victory in his debut at the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
18 August 2022 Thursday 18:35
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Cilic - Alcaraz: Schedule of the match in Spain and where to watch the Cincinnati Masters 1000 on TV

Carlos Alcaraz turned the page of his setback at the first change in Montreal and achieved an unquestionable victory in his debut at the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati. The Murcian gave no options to the American Mackenzie McDonald, whom he beat 6-3, 6-2. "Good victory tonight. Let's go. Step by step and thanks for the support," he wrote on his social networks after the victory.

In the round of 16, his rival will be a top tennis player like Marin Cilic. It will be the third time that the Croatian tennis player has faced Alcaraz, with a win/loss balance equal to one. The first time they met, in Estoril in 2021, the victory went to Cilic. On the contrary, in this year's meeting in Miami, where 'Carlitos' won the first Grand Slam of his career at 19 years old, the Spaniard came out the winner.

The Cilic - Alcaraz takes place in the early hours of Thursday, August 18 to Friday, August 19, not before 02:30 in the morning (Spanish time), and will be broadcast on the channel

After two straight defeats, in the first round at the Masters 1000 in Canada against fellow American Tommy Paul and in the final of the ATP 250 in Umag against the Italian Jannik Sinner, the third seed in Cincinnati after Daniil Medvedev and Rafael Nadal fulfilled in his debut against McDonald with a win in just over an hour of play.

For his part, Cilic got rid of Finn Emil Ruusuvuori (6-4, 6-7, 7-5) in the second round with much suffering. The 33-year-old Croatian veteran is ranked 17th in the ATP ranking and has a US Open in his record.

In the previous one, the pupil of Juan Carlos Ferrero recognized that "every game" is "a challenge" for him and, after his victory against McDonald, he was seen more effusive than usual when celebrating his pass in a second round. It should be remembered that after the defeat against Paul he openly said that he had felt the pressure for the first time.

Alcaraz is the one who has won the most games this year -43 of the 51 he has played- and accumulates four titles -the Masters 1,000 in Miami and Madrid and the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona-, plus the finals of the ATP 500 in Hamburg and the ATP 250 from Umag. Now he will try to continue advancing in Cincinnati and also gain confidence ahead of the US Open, the fourth and last Grand Slam of the season, which will start at the end of August.

If he wins the tournament in Mason, the one from El Palmar would have options to be number one in the world due to the few points he defends and how much he ambitions. Right now he has 16 wins at the Masters 1000 in 2022, becoming co-leader of victories at this level in the season along with Hubert Hurkacz. Alcaraz will be looking to reach victory number 17 against Marin Cilic.