Carlos Alcaraz He breaks another barrier and has qualified this Friday for the final of the Masters 1,000 in Miami after ending the resistance of Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(5) and 7-6(2).
At 18 years and 333 dayswill be the second youngest to fight for the crown after Rafael Nadal would aspire to her in the 2005 edition with just 29 days less than the Murcian.
The Miami tournament is historically resistant to Spanish men’s tennis. Sergi Bruguera, Carlos Moy, David Ferrer and Nadal tried it five times, without luck.
Alcaraz will be the fifth member of the ‘Armada’ to stand in the last round of the contest that one day was considered as the fifth ‘Grand Slam’.
Every time there was a minimum exchange of blows the point fell on the Spanish side. Hurkacz knew it before he started and that’s why he knew the importance of his first serve. I won the draw and chose to draw for something.
The first bars were a contact with the track and the characteristics of an unknown rival as it was the first confrontation between the two.
The sporty gesture of Carlos Alcaraz that everyone applauds
The Miami stands did not hide their colors. When Alcaraz scored a play, especially with a forehand winner, there was a roar. If it was the Pole there was silence. As background music, in the exchanges, Enrique Iglesias played.
The Murcian, with his victory against Miomir Kecmanovic, had become the youngest tennis player to sneak into the semi-finals of Indian Wells and Miami the same course.
His four predecessors Andre Agassi (1997), Nadal (2005), Andy Murray (2007) and Novak Djokovic (2007) reached number one..
On the way to this is Juan Carlos Ferrero’s pupil, who will be sooner rather than later. Seven games had passed and there were still no break options.
Youngest finalists of Masters 1,000 tournaments
1. Michael Chang Toronto 1990 18 years and 157 days
2. Rafael Nadal Miami 2005 18 years and 304 days
3. Rafael Nadal Monte Carlo 2005 18 years and 318 days
4. Richard Gasquet Hamburg 2005 18 to 331 of
5. Carlos Alcaraz Miami 2002 18 years and 333 days
Hurkacz was the first to make a ‘break’ ball. She was saved by her adversary with an accurate drop. The Pole, current champion of the contest, did not give rhythm to the young man eager for glory who was on the other side of the net.
At 41 minutes it was time for Alcaraz, with two balls to reach 6-5 and service. She got a serve stone and a forehand winner. With the 1.96 meters of him, he achieves levers that are difficult to counteract. The denouement of the initial manga would go to sudden death.
Gesto de campen
Before, Another detail of greatness of Carlitos when granting the repetition of a point that the chair umpire Fergus Murphy had given him for a double bounce by Hurkacz that had not been such.. Hubert had no choice but to applaud the gesture of his opponent, which is rarely seen in a sport like tennis.
Alcaraz will score the initial round after coming back from 5-3 in the ‘tie break’ who remembered the end of the quarterfinal match with Kecmanovic.
In the continuation, he was able to accelerate towards victory in case of having taken advantage of a ball for 2-0. The Pole moved on the wire and ended up on the canvas despite trying. He came within a point of leading 6-5 and served to force the third set. He failed in the attempt and fell back on the knee in sudden death. Goodbye to his 10 game win streak at Hard Rock Stadium.
The defeat sends Hurkacz out of the ‘top10’. The 17 matches won by the tennis player from El Palmar in this course, for only two lost, leave him the twelfth of the lists. The border that separates him from the top 10 is barely 429 points.
The celebration was great on the bench of the new racket phenomenon with his IMG agent Albert Molina at the helm, seconded by the Equelite physiotherapist Juanjo Moreno, the man in charge of recovering the youngster for the last day.
“Go for Juanqui, this victory is yours“, Carlos wrote on the television camera, in a new dedication to his coach after the loss of his father Eduardo on March 20.
Ruud’s best moment
In the final awaits the seventh in the classification: Casper Ruud. The Norwegian is the first Masters 1,000 finalist in a country where the reference is winter sports. Next Monday will be seventh on the lists, the best ranking of his career.
At 23, he is one of the players called to rub shoulders with the best in the immediate future. In the only precedent between the two, he won Alcaraz in the quarters of the Marbella Open 250 by 6-2 and 6-4.
