'I felt the love' - how did Alcaraz look on winning singles return?

Despite wearing a compression sleeve on his close arm, Alcaraz unleashed his trademark forehand with acquainted ferocity; the whippy changeable accounted for the bulk of his 28 winners against Safiullin. "I felt great. I don't cognize however it looked from outside, but from inside, my feeling was that I was hitting normal," Alcaraz said. "I was playing beauteous normal, playing my style, and everything felt great." Each of Alcaraz's winners was met with a clenched fist and a celebratory outcry of "vamos" – Spanish for "let's go" – directed toward his squad on the broadside of the court. The 23‑year‑old clearly enjoyed the occasion, smiling after points and, at one stage, singing along to a Michael Jackson track at the change of ends. When he ended an aggravated rally with a sublime dribble changeable during his final service game, Alcaraz lifted his fist to the air, pointed to his ear and waved his arms to request more sound from the raucous crowd. Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash said on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra that it looked as though "every small win" was celebrated by Alcaraz. "What I truly privation to bash is bask each clip that I'm going to locomotion into the court, feeling the vigor from the people," Alcaraz said. "That's what I'm going bash this tournament. The results, it's going to travel aft all." "That's wherefore I enjoyed truthful overmuch today, and it wasn't a astonishment for me, due to the fact that I came present to enjoy."