Carlos Alcaraz He suffers from a cold that makes him somewhat weak physically, which is why he played his match against Rublev (won 6-3 and 7-6 [10/8]) with the classic plaster on the nose to be able to breathe better. But the main problem he had in his debut against Ruud, in which the Norwegian clearly surpassed him, was mental. The head is in charge and the Murcian assures that he is a little saturated already this season. But it is worth the last effort that he seems to want to give.
Because the attitude that Carlos showed in his second match in the Masters Tournament was different, with the intention of overcoming adversity instead of being dragged down by it. The scream he let out when he broke the first set was significant. Also his gestural language throughout the meeting. The “yes, yes” he said to his bench after committing a double fault in the second set. More convinced in his head and also in his tennis, with some defenses that led the Russian tennis player to despair. Then you can win or lose… And he won a match that was quite close.
After that first set decided with that break, Alcaraz knew how to weather the storm in the second. And Rublev too. The Russian has chaos and self-destruction at a minimum, but this time, even though he was behind because he always had to serve at a disadvantage, he did not allow himself to be possessed by his demons. Their end to the second set was incredible: four love service games, sixteen consecutive points.
Thus, a tiebreaker was reached that was spectacular, in which the point of the match was seen with several spectacular defenses by Carlos. Then he committed the double fault, but it didn’t phase him. He had to save a set point, with a barely hit the line, and on the third he managed to close it with an almost direct return, from the forehand: Rublev arrived, but could not put the ball to the other side.
Juan Carlos Ferrero’s pupil moved well and was successful in his favorite shots. If not one of his fantasy shots came out against Ruud, this time he showed three or four incredible shots, some fantastic volleys, he managed up to nine serves in a row…
The Spanish is still alive. He will play on Friday against Zverev, although it is not yet known what it will take for him to qualify. We have to wait to see what happens with the German in tonight’s match, in which he faces Ruud.
