July 21 (Reuters) - World number one Carlos Alcaraz marked his return to action following his Wimbledon triumph with a battling 4-6 6-4 (10-8) win over David Goffin in their Hopman Cup clash on Friday that helped Spain level their tie with Belgium at 1-1. Alcaraz and Masarova, who replaced the injured Paula Badosa in the squad, will face Goffin and Mertens in the mixed doubles rubber later. The winner will reach Sunday's final after both teams beat a Denmark side featuring men's world number six Holger Rune. The relaunched Hopman Cup has returned to the tennis calendar this week after a four-year absence, having lost its spot ahead of the Australian Open as a result of the short-lived ATP Cup men's team event. The last edition of the Hopman Cup, which began in 1989 and was named after Australian great Harry Hopman, saw Roger Federer lead Switzerland to the title against Germany.

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Persons: Carlos Alcaraz, David Goffin, Novak Djokovic, Elise Mertens, Rebeka, Alcaraz, Goffin, clawing, wobbled, Paula Badosa, Mertens, Alize Cornet, Celine Naef, Richard Gasquet, Leandro Riedi, Holger Rune, Harry Hopman, Roger Federer, Shrivathsa Sridhar, Ken Ferris Organizations: Wimbledon, Hopman, Belgium, All, Croatia, Germany, Thomson Locations: Spain, All England, Nice, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Bengaluru