Alcaraz got off to a good start in the North American hard court season

Against an opponent capable of serving well, Alcaraz only won the ball game once in the whole match. But that was enough for the Spaniard to continue after two sets. Alcaraz increased his winning streak to 13 matches, extending from Queen's Championships and Wimbledon.

"I tried to play my own way but it wasn't easy because he hit harder than me from start to finish," Alcaraz said of the Rogers Cup second-round match. "This game helps me focus more on the next rounds. I will try to impose the style of play from the beginning."

In the first game against Shelton, Alcaraz had to save three break-points. In game 4, he won the only game after the American opponent's double error. From there, no one has break-points. Both have 17 winners, with Shelton making two more self-defeating errors than Alcaraz.

Alcaraz won another tie-break in the second set to qualify for the third round, meeting another strong serveer, Hubert Hurkacz - who had 25 aces in the victory over Miomir Kecmanovic 5-7, 6-3, 6-0 .

Before entering the Rogers Cup, Alcaraz went through an interesting training session with Gael Monfils. This duo play against each other by the rule of having to hit the ball in their own court before bouncing to the opponent's court. As a result, after three rounds, Alcaraz lost to the French senior and suffered a push-up penalty.

The novelty post-workout euphoria seemed to energize both of them. Before Alcaraz beat Shelton, Monfils shocked world number four Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-3 in a match where he didn't lose a serve game.