In Beijing, the Asian soil until now forbidden to him, Carlos Alcaraz clenches his fists in triumph, champion for the first time in a territory where until now only Rafael Nadal and Garbiñe Muguruza had been able to celebrate. The Murcian is doing it with enthusiasm now, after an exciting trompe-l’oeil epilogue, cyclothymic and full of twists against the current number one, Jannik Sinner: 6-7(6), 6-4 and 7-6(3), after 3h 21m. It is his fourth trophy of the season – the 16th of his still brief history by the elite, the same as his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero – and is an unbeatable letter of introduction at the opening of this autumn period that has traditionally eluded him. So Asia already has its mark, that of a young talent who brings together art, mind and also manpower, because everything is needed: everything is needed to perform for the Italian, whom the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) still asks to be accountable and with the protagonist of this magnificent classic of the present.
There are six victories in the 10 crosses with him (21 years old), first in a final, this last one of great merit for the development, deceitful as hell. Beautiful and vibrant the tangle. “Jannik was able to win in two sets, so could I, and in three… It was a very close match. Sinner [23] He proved once again that he is the best in the world, at least for me. It’s a beast. So I’m very proud of how I managed everything,” he concedes at the end, becoming the first player to score a full 500 – the category to which the Beijing tournament corresponds – on all surfaces: hard, dirt (Rio and Barcelona ) and grass (Queen’s). “With the 3-0 of the tie-breakI did not lose hope and was able to return. Every time he plays a tiebreaker he is a favorite [superior en 18 de los 19 últimos]so I had to go for it…”, simplifies the winner, defeated a year ago by San Candido in the semifinals. This time, rudder change and celebration. And it affects the message: he is strong with the strong. This season, 8-1 against the top-10.
And Sinner has that virtue of escapism, the Italian capable of avoiding traps, abysses and fires like the one proposed during the first set by Alcaraz. Loose, energetic and determined, the Murcian moved with grace and self-confidence, inspired with his forehand and firm with his backhand, always creative with the brush; However, when he had already put ground in the middle, he began to lose finesse with the first serve and the opponent stood up. From 4-1 to 5-5. With water up to their necks, a courageous reaction. Nobody would have said it. Until then, a rather lucid tennis player, lacking spark and intensity, especially in his legs. Sinner put his hand over and over again on his right knee, making rotations to try to free it from some discomfort, but as soon as he physically unlocked himself and sniffed the possibility of reconnecting, he didn’t hesitate.
He annulled a first set point and in the tiebreaker he aborted two others. The first time he tried, he got it right. Alcaraz had the sleeve in his hands, but when he found himself against the ropes he paid for the excess momentum with two long balls and the concessions resolved a deceptive act that lasted for almost an hour and a quarter. Until then the action proceeded slowly and the initial thicket of one later tripped up the other. The loss of precision trapped the Spaniard, too hasty at times, too much of an arm at others, while Sinner began to acquire that cruising speed that was so corrosive and so threatening, becoming more and more settled. The pulse forces fluctuated, one waxing and the other waning, the feeling spreading that if the rope had to break at one end, it would favor number one.
Critical moment in the eighth game, with 4-3 for him, when he tried two break options that Alcaraz managed to thwart with a lot of heart. Lack of clarity, defense, tough wrist and arrests. Temperance under the downpour. The Murcian put up the shield and once the mess was solved, Mr. Push. The emotional boost revived him and after delivering an accurate blow, he was more successful with his service. From the abyss to balance. Arms open and crying out: now, finally. In equality again, Sinner increased the number of winners in the same way that his error box was getting dirty, but in the same way that he steps on the stocks —break against and 2-1 down in the third—knows how to find the way to break free—5-4 up—and hold on in the most tense moments of the matches.
Not a single smile on his part in the more than three hours of fighting. Scarcity also in the face of Alcaraz. But at this point in the season, the story may not be as much about shots as it is about headshots and resilience, about resisting: whoever suffers the best and believes the most, usually wins. And down there, fighting incessantly, two competing machines, more productive this time the one from El Palmar. Sinner also had it close, 3-0 up in the final outcome, but it still escaped him. A stratospheric run by Alcaraz marked the turning point and after an authoritative volley and a flash of fortune—a touch on the top of the net and the ball in—he overwhelmingly tipped the balance (7-0 partial) in his favor. A sweet and successful way to start this autumn for which it promised new things. “It will be different from other years, I am going to give it my all,” warned number two. And the fabled thing begins in Beijing.
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