Alcaraz overlaps a blackout against Nardi to reach the rooms

Luca Nardi had never faced himself in the professional circuit with Carlos Alcaraz, but he had done it several times as a child. «We were 13 or 14 years old, and he always won. I never defeated it, I never had a chance, ”he admitted in the previous one about those games. The Italian, now, with 21 years and in the 85th position of the world, came out with that mental ballast to the duel with the Spanish in the eighths of the Doha tournament. And he showed that little has changed since then, even if he managed to steal a set to the world number three after an unexpected blackout of the Murcian.

It was the seventh consecutive victory of Alcaraz, the eleventh in total in an still incipient course that only looks like defeat against Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. The Serbian, by the way, is no longer a threat in Doha after falling into the first round with another Italian, Matteo Berrettini (7-6 (4) and 6-2).

Alcaraz, champion in Róterdam a week ago, continues to scratch at great height in this commitment to the hard track that is going out so well, and in which Nardi was a propitious victim. A first blank of Spanish made it clear what the channel of the match was going to be. There would be no place to surprise. Alcaraz only yielded three points with his serve throughout the first manga, and took advantage of his aggressiveness and the power of his right to turn each service of his rival into an ordeal.

In the second set, in addition to crushing, Alcaraz wanted to have fun, with that catalog of blows so genuine that they manage to lift the public from their seats. There were some, but for that slit the only opposition loom of Nardi sneaked, which in the sixth game had its first three breaks for breakage. He took advantage of the last one, and the storm caused a huge disconnection in Alcaraz, which added a single point in the next three games to put his rival on a tray.

Nardi, who last year achieved in Indian Wells against Djokovic his victory of greatest solera, began to dream of achieving a similar deed. But the illusion lasted little. Alcaraz saw the light again at the beginning of the decisive sleeve. He recovered his command with his serve and took the first breakup that he had in the fourth game. He didn’t need much more to reach the rooms.

There awaits Czech Jiri Leheckka, world of the world and champion this year in Brisbane. It will be the second duel between them. Alcaraz took the first, two years ago, in Queens’s grass (6-2 and 6-3).

They are also in the last last round Alex de Miñaur, which won Botic Van de Zandshulp (6-4 and 6-4) and Daniil Medvedev, who beat Belgian Zizou Bergs (6-2, 6-1).