Carlos Alcaraz meets the requirement of increasing intensity and concentration and surpasses Sebastian Korda (23 years old and 28 in the world) to qualify for the round of 16 at Roland Garros. Rivals since childhood, the Spaniard shows his growth on the circuit over an American who was trapped by wrist injuries and has not yet been able to gain that confidence and experience. Rivals since they were children, Alcaraz displays his most concentrated version of the tournament, to make it clear that against Wolf and De Jong they were just mistakes that he knows can no longer be committed.
And even less so in the next round, where he will meet Ben Shelton or Felix Auger-Aliassime, who finish their match interrupted by rain on Saturday.
Carlos Alcaraz 6 7 6 Sebastian Korda 4 6 3
Fireworks were predicted and the Spanish and the American did not disappoint. They are children of current tennis, powerful and fast, but they are only children when it comes to inventing, they are the two artists with the racket of those that delight the public. They not only offer a show for energy, but also for those magic tricks in the form of drop shots, lobs, cuts, climbs to the net and unexpected occurrences with which they catch the staff.
After two hesitant starts to the game, Alcaraz comes out more energized. After losing his first two serves against both Wolf and De Jong, he is the one who breaks at the beginning, as if to make it clear to Korda that the declines of the first two matches are subject, and that this will not be like when they were little and everything was equal; here, he is a semi-finalist. But Korda also responds: break back, it’s true that it’s not like when they were little, that he too has grown up.
Alcaraz does not spare any effort or grunts, nor does he hide his forehand, with which he strikes from side to side again and again because Korda insists that he always has to give one more to win the point. They could have had parallel paths too, because the American is the most advanced of his countrymen Fritz, Tiafoe and Shelton, but he was caught by injuries, weak wrists for which he had to stop for almost a year and prevented him from developing his career as the Spaniard. .
He catches points with the cross forehand, and with the serve he cajoles the Spaniard, now strong, now topspin and devilish; There are few errors in their hand, and they are usually so tight to the lines that the chair umpire has work to do. He even stands up to Alcaraz in the power of the drive, which returns a pair to the Spaniard and even though the Murcian had worked hard to get all the speed that he has in that hand.
But besides the wrists, the other weakest part of Korda is the head. The American fights as equals, but he is not equal to this Alcaraz who does not let himself be carried away by his ghosts. Not this time. And in the mental chess game of the ninth game, it is a break ball that the Spaniard achieves and that becomes a check because in the shot near the net the American breaks: right hand with strength but without faith that collides with the tape and remains in his field. Alcaraz does not break with his service; the first blank game of the match, set for the Spanish.
Alcaraz enters in Alcaraz mode, the usual one, the one of the right that raises the Philippe Chatrier because they are howitzers that can be taken out in a microsecond, that of deciphering the rival’s strategy until destroying it with wonderful drop shots and millimeter lobs. The American has just four points out of thirteen on the net.
With that same trick, which Korda fails to read, he breaks Alcaraz in the third game. The Spaniard lights up, responding with more angles to the rival’s angles, returning the rival’s speed with more speed, practicing drop shots and they come out better each time.
Korda does not want this match to be similar to the other one he played with the Spaniard at Roland Garros: that 6-4, 6-4 and 6-2 that showed too many differences between the two. The Korda of 2024 refuses to give in so easily this time. He recovers the break by showing everything he has, with that sharp backhand that he crosses like a lightning bolt and crosses Alcaraz, who has to continue with that concentration until the tie break.
“Go for it,” he incites Juan Carlos Ferrero, an indication at each point. “Patience,” his brother advises him. And in a mixture of both things, he tips the balance towards his side. And in the final moment, 5-4 in favor of the Spaniard, Korda pales with a forehand that goes long, and Alcaraz is able to destroy the air with his forehand to capture the second set. One of the seven differences.
Another is that Korda has run out of desire to fight. There had hardly been any blank games and Alcaraz won two in the third set. It is difficult for the American to overcome that lost tie break, and his arm turns to butter. There are errors (41 at the end), there is a lack of concentration and the legs no longer reach the recital of drop shots (21, to 6 for Korda) and slices that the Spaniard works on to end up leaving him breathless.
I don’t want to spend more time on the court than is necessary, and Alcaraz pushes from the rest in the sixth game, already at 4-1, because he sees that the opponent is torn, that he misses many shots and that he can’t sustain the first serve. He can’t close the rest, but that’s okay. There are legs to reach everything and a very good serve to confirm that rise in level and sentence a complicated match in two hours and 39 minutes. They could have taken a parallel path, because there is magic in their hands, but it is Alcaraz who has grown the most, much more, and Korda has been left behind.
“It’s super fun to watch you play, Carlos,” Mats Wilander gives him. “It was a great match, I played much better than in the previous matches. I wasn’t too worried about Korda before the match. Because I know what I’m capable of, although he does hit very hard. I had to run a lot from side to side. side, as if it were a marathon,” he commented on the track. And he confessed that he has changed his serve a little, that he no longer makes that step back but only the hand movement and hits higher to hit with more resources. “I feel great. I feel incredible playing on this court. I have great memories. I feel better and better every game I play here. And I’m looking forward to playing the second week and I hope to continue,” concluded the Spaniard.
2024-05-31 21:13:18
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