They say that statistics are there to be broken. Carlos Alcaraz’s game is an endless range of resources impregnated with power and intensity most of the time, other times with subtlety and precision, which has embittered the existence of most of his rivals in recent years, including Casper Ruud. Four defeats in two matches weighed on the Norwegian’s back before his debut at the Nitto ATP Finals, but in Turin he unloaded his backpack of stones with a superb victory against the Spaniard (6-1 and 7-5), the first on the court lasts against a Top 5, in this case against number 3 in the ranking.
The Murcian genius, less active and happy than other times at the Pala Alpitour, encountered a seamless wall that he was unable to crack. Alcaraz has no margin for error in his next two matches, against Zverev and Rublev, if he wants to aspire to be the master of tennis.
The one from El Palmar, who in recent years has arrived less in tune at the end of the season, debuted in the Masters Cup with the bad taste in his mouth of the early elimination in the Paris Masters 1000. The Norwegian had worse feelings, having only accumulated two victories in the last eight tournaments.
At the beginning, Alcaraz launched his forehand, a hammer that at first dwarfed a dismasted Ruud from the back of the court, where he usually handles himself well. The Spaniard’s ball speed seemed an insurmountable barrier for the Scandinavian, who took refuge in his serve to save the first two break balls. But the Nordic, trained at the Nadal Academy, found light in the fourth game. Thanks to his success from the rest, an incredible one from practically the advertising billboard, he broke El Palmar’s serve.
The Spaniard was close to redirecting the situation immediately, having up to three break points, but the world number 7 resisted for more than ten minutes and finally sank Alcaraz’s spirit. The Murcian made a chain of unforced errors, most of them hasty, the result of a certain mental desperation and gave up his serve again. The set, seen for sentencing, was closed without problems by Oslo with a blank game that ended with an ace.
Alcaraz’s face on the bench said it all, with a lost look on his face and going over his mistakes in his head. That worried face contrasted with Ruud’s concentration, with no cracks in his game. Aware of the scenario, the Norwegian, relentless with his serve, ran more than ever from the back and was much more aggressive, even going up to the net, to avoid easy points that gave life to Alcaraz.
Only a spark, with a great volley from a master, allowed the Murcian to find a loophole in the tennis labyrinth that his rival proposed. Break, finally, for Ferrero’s pupil, the first and only one of the match for him. El Palmar raised his fist for the first time when he saw himself ahead in the set (4-2). It was just a mirage.
Ruud did not suffer the blow and continued doing his thing, solid in all aspects against an opponent who accumulated many errors and some points of merit that did nothing to turn the dynamic around.
Alcaraz served to win the partial, but Ruud, based on returns, equalized the set and with another break in a row he delved into the Murcian’s wound, without a plan or ideas. Not even the left ones worked. The Spaniard, with his face covered with the towel at half-time, a sign of the negative thoughts that invaded his head, did not raise his head in a last game of the match that Ruud, huge this time against his black beast, closed with an ace.
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