A hard-fought debut for the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz in the Paris Masters 1,000, the one that closes the ATP season, against the Chilean Nicolás Jarry, who made things difficult for him but who ended up losing 7-5 and 6-1 and opened the doors of the round of 16.
In search of his fifth trophy of the year, the world number 2, propelled to the status of top favorite of the tournament after the withdrawal due to a stomach virus of the Italian Jannik Sinner, has already managed to improve his performance from last season under the roof of Paris .
Alcaraz seeks his fifth trophy of the year in Paris
A city that gives good results to the Spaniard, where he added his thirteenth victory of the year, after those that led him to the Roland Garros title and Olympic silver, when he suffered the only defeat for now in the final against Novak Djokovic.
But if Paris brings joy to the Spaniard, it is not in his Masters 1,000 where he has had the most reasons to smile, because the closing event of the year has brought him some disappointments, such as the 2021 round of 16 duel against the Frenchman Hugo Gastón, which he abandoned between tears and with a passionate audience.
If the following year he achieved his best result, the quarterfinals, in which he abandoned, again, in 2023 he did not make it past the second round against the Russian Roman Safiullin.
With the withdrawal of Sinner, Alcaraz acted as a favorite in the tournament
Now he has all eyes on his back, because he is the highest-ranked tennis player left in the tournament, suffering like every year from an epidemic of casualties, but also abandoned in this edition by the Serbian Novak Djokovic, the only big star who is He has taken it seriously.
Alcaraz’s end-of-year resistance began to be tested against a tough rival, Jarry, who made it more difficult for him than the scoreboard reflected, at least in the first race and at times it seemed that the scare of the past could be repeated Buenos Aires tournament, when the Chilean defeated him in the semifinals.
Alcaraz came on strong on his return to the Parisian indoor court and the whirlwind of the game resulted in a 3-0 score that suggested a placid debut.
But the advantage led to relaxation and a drop in pace allowed Jarry to rejoin the match after snatching the world number 2’s serve in the ninth game and tying it at 5.
Alcaraz had to accelerate again to score the next two games and close the first set, which the Chilean gave up with a double fault.
Well established in his game, the Chilean put the Spaniard’s service game under pressure, who began the second set defending himself, but saw Jarry’s precision, very dependent on the speed of his service on a court that spits the ball with madness, I was losing everything.
The Spaniard gave him no option, as he understood that he could not allow his rival to re-engage in the duel and he remained firm until closing the match and placing himself in the round of 16.
The quarterfinals are now one step away and his rival will emerge this Wednesday from the duel between the Frenchman Ugo Humbert and the American Marcos Giron, from the previous phase.
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