Carlos Alcaraz 'not feeling the right way' but beats Hamad Medjedovic to reach last 16 at Cincinnati Open

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Another clash between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz remains on the cards in Cincinatti after the latter progressed to the last 16 with a battling win over Serbian Hamad Medjedovic in hot temperatures. Alcaraz admitted he was not feeling his best on court, but said he was "happy and proud" having secured his 50th victory of 2025 to set up a last-16 match with Italian Luca Nardi.

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Carlos Alcaraz said he was happy to win despite "not feeling the right way" during his Cincinatti Open victory over Hamad Medjedovic.

World No. 2 Alcaraz beat the Serbian 6-4 6-4 to secure his 50th win of 2025, the first player to reach that landmark since Novak Djokovic in 2016.

And he admitted it was a challenging day in difficult conditions.

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"You have to think positive and just play your best tennis possible that day," Alcaraz said.

"I'm really happy that in really difficult matches I'm able to play my best tennis even though I'm not feeling the right way.

"I'm just happy and proud about it because it's something I'm working on."

World No. 72 Medjedovic stayed in the contest in the Ohio heat, keeping pace with Alcaraz for much of a close first set.

But the five-time Grand Slam winner got the first break of the match to go 4-3 ahead and then held his serve to close out the opener.

Medjedovic required some attention from his physio during the interval for an apparent neck injury, but he continued to compete with Alcaraz in the second set.

The latter just had the edge again, though, breaking after a couple of failed drop shots from Medjedovic.

Alcaraz served well to see out the decisive set and continue his bid for an eighth ATP Masters title.

A repeat of the recent French Open and Wimbledon finals - Alcaraz against Jannik Sinner - remains on the cards.

"I know he’s a really powerful player," the Spaniard said of Medjedovic in his on-court interview.

"His shots are incredibly hard to return. He has a big serve also. I know he doesn’t like to run too much from side to side, so my plan was to make him run as much as I could.

"It was difficult because his ball flies and it comes really fast, but I’m just glad that I did it most of the time, tried to defend in a good way. I’m just really happy to get the win."

Alcaraz will face lucky loser Luca Nardi in the last 16, after the Italian progressed due to 16th seed Jakub Mensik withdrawing.

The heat has proved difficult to cope with for several players in Cincinatti. Arthur Rinderknech collapsed on court during a match and Francisco Comesana needed a medical timeout in his clash with Reilly Opelka.

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