Facundo Bagnis threw his racket into the air to celebrate winning a game against Carlos Alcaraz at the Miami Open. The world No 100 lost the first eight games of the match as the top seed took a 6-0 2-0 lead. He survived a wobble to hold serve in the third game of the second set and saw the funny side.
Alcaraz took on Bagnis for the second time at tour level and the fourth time overall to open his Miami Open title defence. And it was the best start the top seed could have asked for, as he won the first nine points in a row.
The 19-year-old raced to a 6-0 lead in just 23 minutes. And he extended his streak to an impressive eight games in a row, breaking the Argentine again to start the second set.
Bagnis finally had two game points at 0-2 down but he almost blew it after Alcaraz managed to get to deuce. But the 33-year-old stayed strong to finally get himself on the board 42 minutes into the match and celebrated appropriately.
There was a loud cheer on the Stadium Court as fans celebrated Bagnis’ service hold. But the world No 100 only managed to win one more game before Alcaraz sent him packing with a 6-0 6-2 victory in 64 minutes.
It was the perfect start to the Spaniard’s title defence, as he comes into the Miami Open as the reigning champion. Alcaraz dropped just four points on his first serve all match and fired down four ages to advance to the third round.