VALENCIA: United States Open champion Carlos Alcaraz crashed to defeat on his debut as world number one, losing 6-7(3) 6-4 6-2 to Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime in their Davis Cup Finals group-stage clash on Friday.
The 19-year-old Spaniard, who became the youngest player to top the ATP rankings when he claimed the title at Flushing Meadows on Sunday, joined Sergi Bruguera’s squad on Tuesday and did not play in their opening 3-0 victory over Serbia.
“I didn’t arrive in very good physical condition. Very, very tough. The court is very slow. I had just two days to adapt my game to this court. It…