The permanent hammering of Juan Carlos Ferrero’s knee is not a good indication. The coach suffers on the bench and his player, Carlos Alcaraz, does it on the green, looking for solutions everywhere and unable to find a way to block Jan-Lennard Struff’s meteoric ball. The German, a 1.93 bomber that fires gunpowder in each and every one of his services, strikes again and again, and places the Murcian on the brink of the abyss. It happens that in that terminal territory, the Spaniard is used to uncorking his best blows and the more he tightens the rope, the better he responds. Pum-pum-pum! This is how he responds, this is how he gets up and this is how he reverses the convoluted crossing of the opening day of Wimbledon: 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (3) and 6-4, after 4h 11m.
Struff is one of those hammers that you don’t want to come across on the pitch and he, 19 years old and still a lot to learn, didn’t have it all with him. Alcaraz said before setting foot on the grass that he should not be among the candidates, that there are many other players ahead on the green and that he still has to learn to unravel the mysteries of the surface. He arrived in London with discomfort in his right elbow and, although he has managed to alleviate the pain, he still cannot escape the doubts that his two interventions in the Hurlingham exhibition sowed: two appointments, two defeats. Little filming and few certainties. Against Struff, adaptation on the fly and pure and simple survival.
It is the harsh law of the herb. Alcaraz was able to close the duel in the fourth round, but wasted four break options to establish the 5-4 and serve, and the concession forced him to the final push. “This victory is worth a lot”, he affirmed on the green of Court 1, to which he gave some of those fanciful points that he is used to signing and with 73 winners, 30 in the form of ace. He had never recorded so many aces. He thus resolved a tricky debut in which for a long time he walked on the wire and in which he suffered the scourge of the German.
In the face of the storm, he proposed a greater download and managed to change the sign of the party. He imposed his quality, highlighted his expertise in long-distance events – five wins in the six pulses to five sets that he has played so far – and progressed; now, he quotes the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor (53rd in the world), superior to Fabio Fognini.
“Better than I expected”
“I have to improve, but I’m happy with my level today,” he told reporters. “Moving well here is not something that is taken from one day to the next. It was my first game [oficial] on grass this year and it has gone better than expected. The service has gotten me out of a lot of trouble”, highlighted the man from El Palmar, who lost last year in the second round against Daniil Medvedev.
Before he won, Alejandro Davidovich managed to escape from the labyrinth that he himself generated in the duel against Hubert Hurkacz. The 23-year-old from Malaga had three match points but got tangled up, got complicated and finally straightened himself out: 7-6(4), 6-4, 5-7, 2-6 and 7-6(8) , after 3h 28m. He signed, in this way, the most remarkable pitch of the first day, since the Pole – semi-finalist last year and executioner of Roger Federer – broke out as seventh seed and had recently won in Halle.
This is Davidovich, artist and brittle at the same time, an all-or-nothing player who leaves no one indifferent. Triumph of merit and epic this time. He will cross paths with Jiri Vesely next. “I don’t know how I won, but this gives me a lot of confidence. I’ve shown that I can beat anyone here”, valued the Andalusian, a finalist this year in Monte Carlo and who currently occupies 37th place in the ranking; “This is tennis, this is grass, and in a match you can be up or down very quickly. This is a world. It has been very exciting. I must continue working, believe much more in myself and gain regularity”.
Djokovic drops a set
Jaume Munar progressed alongside him (6-2, 6-4 and 7-5 to Thiago Monteiro, and appointment with Cameron Norrie), although the Spanish representation regretted the eliminations of Albert Ramos (7-6(1), 7-6 (9) and 6-2 for Casper Ruud), Fernando Verdasco (6-1, 6-2 and 7-6(4) against Tommy Paul) and Pablo Andújar (6-0, 7-6(3) and 6- 3 favorable to the British Norrie).
Meanwhile, the defending champion and six-time champion of the tournament, Novak Djokovic, recovered skillfully after a small slip against Sonwoo Kwon (6-3, 3-6, 6-3 and 6-4). “I have not felt as comfortable as I would have liked”, admitted Nole, who recorded his 80th victory in the English great – the third to do so after Federer (105) and Jimmy Connors (84) – and, therefore, He became the first tennis player, male or female, to reach that record in all four Grand Slams. He has 82 at the Australian Open and US Open, and 86 at Roland Garros. He will face Australian Tanasi Kokkinakis on Wednesday.
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