Carlos Alcaraz was delighted after beating countryman Roberto Carballes Baena 6-2, 6-1 to reach the Miami Open third round. Alcaraz admitted he had to adapt to different conditions in Miami as the ball comes differently as compared to Indian Wells.

The Spaniard came up with some solid forehands and also had a solid defense against the compatriot.

“I defended well in the humid conditions,” said Alcaraz, who won more than 50 per cent of points when in defensive positions. “I had to be patient.

“I had to adapt to the conditions; the ball goes differently to Indian Wells and I had to see how it would be. I’m really happy with my performance and how I hit the ball.”

Alcaraz was also aggressive on second-serve returns and played at the top of his game. Veteran Andy Murray also showered praise on Alcaraz by taking to X.

Andy Murray wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Watching Alcaraz play tennis makes me smile ?❤️”

“It’s great. As I’ve said many times, I play for myself, I play for my team. But also I enjoy if the people enjoy watching my matches, my games. For me, it’s pretty cool,” Alcaraz said. “ I think for me it’s even better if a legend like Andy says something like this, that he enjoys a lot watching my matches. It’s crazy for me, honestly.

“I think he has seen a lot of tennis during his career, a lot of matches, a lot of players. [To] see these words from him for me is great. It’s something I try to do in every match.”

Back in 2021, Murray had predicted that Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz would be the new World No.1s.

“Of the current ones, Medvedev would be the guy I would expect to get there first. I think maybe he will need to be a little bit more consistent on the clay to get there, but I think he’s got a good chance,” Murray said at the time. “From the young, young ones, I think [Carlos] Alcaraz is really, really good. I think he’s got a good chance at it.”

Alcaraz will next face Gael Monfils on Monday.