Alcaraz goes to bed at 3am in Australia

Australia's Carlos Alcaraz finished treatment at 3am, after finishing his first-round Australian Open match against Richard Gasquet on the evening of January 16.

Alcaraz only needed three sets with the scores of 7-6(5), 6-1, 6-2 to book his place in the second round of the Grand Slam in Melbourne. But the Spaniard could only leave the court when the clock had already struck a new day because he had to spend 50 minutes answering interviews and completing post-match procedures.

Alcaraz then went to the hotel with his therapist to do some muscle relaxation and went to bed at 3am, the Spaniard's team shared on social media. "The match doesn't end at the last point, it only ends after the treatment," Dr Juanjo Moreno wrote, along with a photo of himself with the 20-year-old.

Alcaraz saves the ball during the match against Gasquet at Rod Laver Court on January 16, in Melbourne, Australia. Photo: AFP — Alcaraz saves the ball during the match against Gasquet at Rod Laver Court on January 16, in Melbourne, Australia. Photo: *AFP*

If the match with Gasquet were longer, Alcaraz would go to bed when the sun started to rise in the land of Kangaroos. "I prefer to play during the day," he said. As the top seed, Alcaraz often has to play in the evening, which happened frequently at last year's US Open.

Alcaraz has little time off, as he will practice at 2pm today to prepare for his second round against Lorenzo Sonego. "I really want to give quality shots to the audience," said the two-time Grand Slam winner. "I don't want to think about points, world number one or anything like that right now. I just want to focus on the game."

Day three of the Australian Open ended with another early exit for the men’s singles seed, Alexander Bublik. The Kazakhstan player lost to Sumit Nagal 4-6, 2-6, 6-7 in just three sets. Nagal – who won the Wimbledon junior doubles with Ly Hoang Nam – had to enter the tournament from the qualifying round.

Nagal is all set to pocket $180,000 from his surprise win over Bublik, enough to cover his tournament expenses for the next several months. The Indian player complained last year that he had just over $900 in his bank account and was relying on domestic sponsorships.

Vy Anh

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