Carlos Alcaraz had already dazzled us in Indian Wells with a presence in the semis, now he is the youngest champion in the history of the Miami Masters in 37 years and the first Spaniard to win the event! Already in his 3rd career tournament after his titles at Umag in the 250 series last year and Rio de Janiero a 500 this season, he keeps his immaculate record in Masters 1000! I was worried he was tired today as Casper Ruud had a great start to the game. The Norwegian is attacking in just about every aspect of his game and has a nice 4-1 lead. The problem is that when Carlos finds the top level, it is necessary to continue to challenge him which proves to be too difficult for Ruud.
What impresses me the most about Alcaraz is his constant presence at the end of the set and match. They all broke their teeth and not the least: Cilic, Tsitsipas, Kecmanovic and Hurkacz were unable to believe it until the end, flouted by the quality of the ball and the wise choices of the young prodigy. Cushioning not working? No problem, we manage differently and that’s the most interesting thing about him: he knows how to do EVERYTHING! Fasten your toques, Alcaraz will make a lot of people tremble on the ocher ground in Europe, his favorite surface!
As for our Canadians, the series under the sun (ie the Indian Wells and Miami sequence) is not going very well. Félix Auger Aliassime faces in his first match the tough Miomir Kecmanovic, former world number 1 among juniors like him who has a sufficiently early ball strike to be annoying. Sometimes it’s more difficult to start a tournament well when your status grants you a pass to the 2nd round. The Serb comes to us from a good presence in the quarters in the California desert in addition to passing the test against the heavy strikes of Jack Sock and a deficit of 1-4 in the 1st set. He fights fiercely to win the match in 2 tight sets. So he is ready for Felix and it shows in the smallest details and on the concentration side. Our Quebecer loses his serve at 3-3 despite leading 40-15. Then the next game he gives himself 5 chances to come back with equal service but does not take advantage of it. That’s all it takes for the Serbian to slam the door in his face. Eager to find the top of the pavement as soon as possible, Félix asks for an invitation and here he is, the first favorite of the Marrakech tournament this week.
Denis Shapovalov commits 38 unforced errors in 1:19 of play in addition to ending the game on his 6th double fault. In his defense, Lloyd Harris leads his service games well in addition to showing consistency to make the exchange last when the situation requires it while taking advantage of openings when they arise. I feel Denis nervous and weakened by his lack of consistency. You have to seek help to overcome what he is going through emotionally in the moments, which inevitably make the difference between a victory and a defeat. That said, and this applies as much to Félix as to Denis, don’t panic, the road is long. They are both, despite everything, still very well positioned in the standings. After Miami, FAA is still in 9th position while Shapo is 15th. I wish them a great transition on clay to regain and build their confidence as quickly as possible.
Leylah Fernandez has no luck in Miami as she faces quite an entry challenge against the comeback Karolina Muchova, 19th in the world last year before suffering a rather serious abdominal injury. This is the Czech’s first tournament since the US Open last year. Forced to pull out her fangs to first defeat her compatriot Tereza Martincova in 2 tiebreakers, Muchova gives herself to the extreme and will need to use all her range of shots to stop the momentum of our Quebecer in end of 2nd set. Once again Fernandez gives everything she has to create a turnover but admits defeat in 2:13 after an intense fight at the end of the match. There is no shame, far from it, in bowing to the great talent and strong strikes of the Czech. With 10 break points on the clock but only 3 converted, that’s where the shoe pinches. It’s also disappointing to be 18th seed and having to stuff a player of this caliber. Normally his rank should ensure him a more lenient introduction…
As for her, Rebecca Marino showed a lot of determination to extricate herself from qualifying and lead Katerina Siniakova (53rd) 6-3, 2-0 in the first round. Everything rolls up to there as she holds all the cards to go straight for victory. Unfortunately, it’s as if she saw a nasty blow which allows the adversary to thread the parts as one threads the pearls. It’s a shame because Becca has the game. Now the body has to follow.
In another vein, with the retirement at 25 of the Australian Ashley Barty, the Polish Iga Swiatek becomes the worthy heiress to the throne and the first Polish woman at the top of the hierarchy. Quite deserved when you consider how dominant she is as she triumphs in her last 3 tournaments, all in the Masters 1000 category. training mood, a growing appetite for all that is done with excellence and a deep desire to improve. So you won’t be surprised to learn that since 2019, Swiatek has been traveling on the circuit with his own psychologist Daria Abramowicz. No wonder then that you now have to write your first name this way: 1ga.
She becomes only the 4th player to complete the Indian Wells/Miami double after Steffi Graf, Vika Azarenka and Kim Clijsters. Admit that despite the defeat, it was still a great week of tennis for Naomi Osaka who advanced 41 places in the standings to find herself 36th. His fine victories against Kerber, Collins and Bencic are extremely encouraging. It’s just that Swiatek has a phenomenal strike force and great will coupled with an ability to martyr the opponent by making him do INTENSE left/right. This exposes the progress that Naomi will have to make in training over the next few weeks to regain her form and speed of yesteryear. Very happy also to see her serene at the microphone during the closing ceremony. Encouraging!!!
Let’s go now to some news that has been talked about during the tournament. After having managed to convince us that he is now as happy as a fish in water, Nick Kyrgios loses his lead against Jannick Sinner in the round of 16 in front of certain decisions by referee Carlos Bernardes. Smashed rackets, rude words and malicious and insulting attitudes, it was all there. How sad to destroy in a short time all the efforts made to improve. However, at the microphone of Tennis Channel, he admitted, 24 hours earlier, to have never been so happy in his life. The gambling authorities choose to punish him financially in Indian Wells and Miami for a total of $60k. Sad to see him lose control of his emotions like this…
Meanwhile, US Open champion Emma Raducanu is going cash…in a good way. Since the breakthrough of Briton Lewis Hamilton in Formula 1, we have never seen such enthusiasm in England for a top athlete. Emma attracts sponsors like honey bees. The reasons are many: she is beautiful, young and has great tennis potential while having inherited multicultural origins: born of a Romanian father and a Chinese mother. Raducanu has therefore signed with the following prestigious brands: British Airways, Evian, the Vodafone group, Tiffany, Dior, Nike and Wilson. Each company undertakes to offer him 2 to 4 million dollars a year. Good for her but be careful, she will also have to be protected from the suffocating pressure because Emma has only won 4 matches since the US Open and only 2 in this year 2022.
Let us now offer thoughts of speedy recoveries to Daniil Medvedev operated on Saturday for a hernia. So that explains why his game lacked bite. We will have to see how long he will have to be absent. Expect 4 to 8 weeks. As for him, Mateo Berrettini goes under the knife to solve a problem with the right hand. The Italian whips the ball violently in the forehand, hard in the long term for the ligaments and tendons. With Rafael Nadal suffering from a crack in a rib, that makes 3 members of the top 10 on the floor.
Now here is the quote that I remember during this tournament and which belongs to Marion Bartoli, Wimbledon champion in 2013. The Frenchwoman comments on the decision taken by the Australian Barty who decides in this world eager for gains by retiring while she is at the top of his game and still young at 25. It will be remembered that after her All England title, Marion experienced a great void. She explains: “When you ran after something that seemed impossible and you have it, afterwards, you can’t start again. You should know that a tennis career represents a daily gift of self and the ability to endure great suffering. By triumphing at Wimbledon last year which represents the dream of a lifetime, Ash adds to it by living the ultimate dream by winning at her home in Melbourne, in front of family and friends. The icing on the cake, Barty receives his trophy from the hands of the one who represents the inspiration of his life, Evonne Goolagong. That’s why she stops: she has found her happiness.
To experience other small and great moments, I invite you to our next live meeting in Monte Carlo from April 10 to 17. The ocher earth of our ancestors calls us…
