If it continues like this, Carlos Alcaraz will come to haunt the nights of Stefanos Tsitsipas. At the US Open for their first duel, the Spaniard had signed a sublime victory in five sets by pocketing, in passing, his first career victory against a Top 10. It was just a few months ago and, since , the 18-year-old prodigy has taken on a few more stripes. For the reunion between the two men, he again dictated his law to his Greek rival in Miami (7-5, 6-3).
The world No. 5, however, seemed to have the game in hand. Admittedly, he lost the monstrous exchange punctuated by two tweeners between the two players (see below), but it was he who dominated in the game and in the score. Impactful on his services and attentive in return, Tsitsipas benefited, in addition, from a waste to which the Spaniard had not been accustomed in recent weeks.
Led 2-5, service to follow, Alcaraz thought above all, he explained then, of winning his face-off to force his rival to serve for the set and therefore start the second act on his own service. But here it is, even if Tsitsipas was playing “incredibly good”the Spaniard decided to fight “until the last point”. Finding more precision and percussion, he began his terrible comeback. Lob, cushioned, long backhand line, the Greek took more and more bloody shots.
A mind-blowing sequence from Alcaraz
Not only did he abandon the first set but he lost fourteen out of fifteen points during a mind-blowing sequence that allowed Alcaraz to take a set and a break lead. Tsitsipas was stunned but above all without a solution despite his multiple attempts on the fly. The sound of the Spaniard’s ball grew more and more muted and the « Carlito » from the stands encouraged him to do even more.
Brute force, the protege of Juan Carlos Ferraro offered himself the luxury of finishing on the opposing service and gently, with a subtle cushioned backhand. After greeting the crowd in English and then in Spanish with a “this victory is also yours” old veteran, he could leave the court all smiles and boss. After the one played in Indian Wells, he will try to qualify again for a half of the Masters 1000 against Miomir Kecmanovic, who scored Taylor Fritz.
