Carlos Alcaraz behind the back shot sets up backhand winner against Andrea Vavassori in Rotterdam

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Carlos Alcaraz added to his growing highlight reel at the ABN AMRO Open on Thursday, nailing a behind-the-back shot that thrilled the Rotterdam crowd en route to his 6-2, 6-1 win over Andrea Vavassori.

“It comes naturally in the moment,” Alcaraz said, explaining the shot after the match.

“There are a lot of situations you cannot practice on the practices, so you improvise a little bit and that’s what happened in that point.”

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The remarkable bit of defense helped him ultimately win the point and set the match off on the brightest possible note. After playing three tough sets against Dutch rival Botic van de Zandschulp in his opening round on Tuesday, the four-time Grand Slam champion was far more efficient against Vavassori to advance in straight sets.

“Obviously, getting the win is really important but I’m here just to entertain the people, make them happy, and make them enjoy watching my matches. I’m not looking to do this in every match, but if it comes, for me, it’s really good.”

Alcaraz and his arsenal of hot shots will be back on court for the quarterfinals where, as the top seed, he awaits either Pedro Martinez or No. 5 seed Holger Rune.