The kings of yesterday and a little of today said goodbye, that Nadal-Djokovic that served as an epilogue to an unrepeatable rivalry. The Serbian won, but the Spaniard also won, the tribute of his teammates, the fans and tennis, because although at half speed at the beginning, they gave one last effort to seal a magnificent era. But they gave way to the kings of today and, above all, of tomorrow, an Alcaraz-Sinner that begins to have that aroma of historical rivalry like those who preceded them on the track.
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Between these two contenders, one already four Grand Slams, the other two, Sinner stood out, who does not attend exhibitions because he does not want to slow down with a view to the Masters Cup. He pushed with everything at the beginning, overwhelming with that lethal right hand that hits from any point in the background and devastates the rivals, a dizzying 4-1 that, however, spurred the Spaniard, also wounded in his pride and eager to take the loot of the boots at the end of the match.
Alcaraz understood that Sinner was not going to lower the level and he also pressed from the bottom and with those drop shots with which he cajoled the Italian. With sanity and vertigo in hand, he overcame the disadvantage and pushed himself to the tie. A new beginning of the great meeting of the continuous present, this final that everyone hopes will last due to the charge of adrenaline and electricity that the protagonists always carry. With the Italian’s arrogance extinguished, Alcaraz caught him in thousands of doubts, forcing the two to break the tie in the tie break, where the two are also learning to become heirs of Nadal and Djokovic. Alcaraz has, however, had the best teacher at home, also when it comes to picking himself up from the bad times and continuing even though the score seems too much against him. From 1-4 to 7-5 with a little more mobility because the two are going to hit evenly, but the Spaniard finds more angles. And Sinner gets caught, more nervous than ever because he even throws a ball in the air with rage when he loses the first chapter.
If a revival had been seen between the Balearic Islands and the Serbian at half speed, given the circumstances of both, the Alcaraz-Sinner reflected the speed of the ball at which tennis moves today, of which they are absolute owners. And there, a tug of war between the two. It is the Italian who once again imposes his rhythm at the beginning of the second set (3-1), but the Spaniard gets tangled up again when he accelerates and displays his happy tennis.
He has learned a lot in 2024, San Candido. He has had a good time on the court, champion in Australia and the US Open, for example, but he has had a bad time off it. A claim for his acquittal for a double positive for doping in March is still hanging over his head, pointed out by some teammates because the investigation was launched without him being removed from the circuit. Perhaps that has made his head, which has already matured for a couple of seasons, become even more iron-fisted.
Alcaraz harassed him with mischief typical of his vintage, but when the tie came at three, Sinner became a granite tennis player. Because of how he shielded himself in the background, because of how he finally launched lashes with changes of direction, because of how he closed his mind to the errors and ups and downs and to the speed of the Spaniard. He blocked the hand and completed the set without a blemish. And he got even firmer in the third quarter.
It is a luxury, five-star, papier-mâché exhibition, a stage in which the Italian has done precisely that, exhibit himself. No mercy against Medvedev on the first day; no concessions against a rebellious Djokovic on the second day; without lowering his gaze even one bit against Alcaraz in the final. He is the best of 2024, number 1, and as such he has behaved in this Six Kings Slam.
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