It is a test of maturity that, after a balanced start, is decided in favor of Carlos Alcaraz. The Murcian puts his neck on the line in the tournament and acts intelligently, moves better and regains tone. He is a more recognizable and consistent Alcaraz, who also reads the situation perfectly: he senses that at one moment or another, Andrey Rublev is going to explode. And so it happens: 7-5 and 6-2, in 1h 15m. The Russian, always agitated, is a bag of nerves and tension, pure anxiety, so the Spaniard ends up opening the thunder box based on linearity and good work. It’s what he touches, the fantasy will return; This time, it was necessary to avoid the abyss no matter what and the objective was achieved, the number two takes a deep breath and focuses on Friday’s appointment against Daniil Medvedev. The upcoming duel, definitive because it closes the group stage, will decide whether or not this first trip between the masters continues.
Against the ropes after losing in Monday’s premiere against Alexander Zverev, Alcaraz offers integrity and poise. It is not a simple scenario, given that the winds of recent dates are not blowing in his favor and a defeat in this format weighs heavily. There is no margin for error, but at the same time it offers the option to rectify and the one from El Palmar clings tightly to the burning nail on this Wednesday in which heads take precedence over tennis. He spends the first set on the wire and plays the Murcian song with cunning. He sees Rublev’s red face in front of him and knows that at one moment or another he is going to explode. The Russian thing doesn’t have much of an explanation, because the scene is more than recurrent: it’s Rublev against Rublev, a magnificent player who, if he continues along the same path, will hit the same wall again and again. For now, there is no remedy. There is no one to contain him.
“Calm down, Andrey, calm down!” they shout at him from their bench. His coach, Fernando Vicente, has sweaty hands because he knows that sooner rather than later, the tennis player, 26 years old to Alcaraz’s 20, is going to leave the match. The ages are reversed. “Take your time!” His agent, Galo Blanco, recommends. He saves the first moment of conflict with a ace, but every time he goes to serve, too many conflicting feelings pass through his mind. She throws the ball up, but fakes it. Like this several times. The fire expands through that indecipherable interior. So the Pala Alpitour stands emit a hum and suspect, like the rival, that sooner or later it is going to happen. It is the chronicle of a resignation. Awarded the first break6-5, the Muscovite smashes his racket against the ground and then violently punishes his knees with blows. There are six of them, and blood flows. The scene borders on the tragicomic, tarantinianif it weren’t for the fact that the boy has a really bad time.
Rublev had been playing very well, having won the final in Shanghai and the semifinals in Vienna and Bercy over the last month. However, the jump does not come. And, if this continues, the setback will be irremediable. The duel ends as soon as the first set is defined, because the self-destructive process continues and on the other side of the net, Alcaraz develops methodically and with the ideal attitude. In the face of the storm, he stepped firmly and did not look back. “It was a totally different game, I offered a totally different level. Yesterday I trained very well and I am happy to have played well from the first to the last ball”, he assesses at the foot of the court, with a masterful victory already on the record and now, with options to progress to the semifinals. “The key will be to play a tactically perfect match. I must be patient and at the same time aggressive, a mix“, refers to Friday’s fight with Medvedev.
Alcaraz rejoins this Masters and the numbers speak. His tennis has regained temperature and, although he admits a couple of twists and turns, he offers hopeful signs. I hit him with it drive, essential, has increased 10 kilometers per hour (127-117) compared to the first intervention in the tournament, in which he was at the mercy of Zverev most of the time. This is something else. With more punch and a more balanced proposal – 21 winners for only 11 errors – he has barely given away points with the first serve (94%) and has not offered a single break option to the Russian, who constantly grunts and laments loudly. :Nooooo! That voice is heartbreaking. With two losses and without winning a single set, he is virtually eliminated. In the opposite sense, the Spaniard clenches his fist proudly and recharges his emotional tank because, as they say, this is tennis, and in a minimum period of time everything can change a lot. As much as Alcaraz is still standing, and his face has changed.
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