World No 1 Alcaraz stunned by former top 10 player Goffin in Astana Open first round

Playing his first ATP tournament since winning the US Open and becoming the youngest world No 1 in men’s tennis, Carlos Alcaraz was stunned in straight sets by former top 10 player David Goffin in the first round of the Astana Open.

Goffin, who only made the main draw as a lucky loser, won 7-5, 6-3 over the 19-year-old Spaniard at the Daulet National Tennis Center in Nur-Sultan on Tuesday.

The win levels their head-to-head at 1-1 with Alcaraz winning their round of 32 clash in Melbourne last year. Now ranked No 66 in the world, Goffin will face Frenchman Adrian Mannarino next.

This was the 31-year-old Belgian’s third career win over a current world No 1 player, having beaten Rafael Nadal twice in the past.

Alcaraz is now 1-2 since winning his first Grand Slam title

Since his incredible run to the US Open title in early September, Alcaraz has now won one of his last three matches. The Spaniard went 1-1 in the Davis Cup qualifiers, beating Korea’s Soonwoo Kwon but going down to Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Tuesday’s loss also marked the first time that Alcaraz has lost a match in straight sets in 2022.

The last time the Spaniard was beaten in straight sets was at the 2021 Paris Masters when he was ranked No 35 and went down to Hugo Gaston in the round of 16.

Nur-Sultan ATP 250, first-round matches:

• Luca Nardi (Q) beat Alexander Shevchenko (Q): 7-6 (4), 6-2
• Stefanos Tsitsipas (3) beat Mikhail Kukushkin (WC): 6-3, 6-4
• Pavel Kotov (LL) beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina: 6-4, 6-4
• Karen Khachanov beat Maxime Cressy: 6-4, 7-6 (3)
• Andrey Rublev (5) beat Laslo Djere (Q): 6-4, 6-3
• Roberto Bautista Agut beat Felix Auger-Aliassime (8): 6-4, 7-6 (6)
• Hubert Hurkacz (7) beat Francisco Cerundolo: 6-2, 7-6 (2)
• Zhizhen Zhang (Q) beat Aslan Karatsev: 4-6, 6-4, 6-1
• Botic van de Zandschulp beat Beibit Zhukayev (WC): 6-1, 6-1
• Adrian Mannarino beat Stan Wawrinka (WC): 1-6, 6-2, 6-3
• Marc-Andrea Huesler vs. Emil Ruusuvuori
• Cristian Garin vs. Novak Djokovic : Later in Nur-Sultan
• Marin Čilić vs. Oscar Otte : Later in Nur-Sultan
• Albert Ramos-Vinolas vs. Daniil Medvedev : Tuesday in Nur-Sultan
• Tallon Griekspoor vs. Alexander Bublik : Tuesday in Nur-Sultan

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