Carlos Alcaraz leaves the court with a long face, a crooked expression on this Turin Monday and aware that the defeat against Casper Ruud in the first match of the group stage will put him in trouble. Again, like a year ago, stumble to start: 6-1 and 7-5, in 1h 25m. That is to say, it is time to row against the current again and avoid two fires, the ones that await you around the corner, Wednesday and Friday; to decide the order, Zverev or Rublev, depending on what happens tonight (8:30 p.m.) between the two. The fact is that the one from El Palmar starts the Masters again stumbling and defeated, without spark, punch nor did he overwhelm an opponent who had lost eight of the 10 duels he had played since the US Open in September, and who had chained eliminations in the first rounds of Basel, Bercy and Metz heading into this master meeting. Surprise entry, then, and ground to recover for him under the alarm light, already activated.
It's two in the afternoon and in the Inalpi Arena the techno is playing at full blast and there is no ray of natural light inside. Everything takes place under a futuristic aesthetic of bluish neons and lighting effects accompanied by the good work of the djwhich he mixes successfully from the back stand before the two Tennis players jump onto the court. Alcaraz does it, cold, no longer wearing the helmets he was wearing moments before in the underground gallery of the venue, where he was warming up and shaking his hips. The Murcian needs good vibes and learning to be inspired in a terrain that is still elusive and where the Spanish male representation has only celebrated the double breakthrough of Manuel Orantes (1976, Houston) and Álex Corretja (1998, Hannover). The roof, quite a challenge.
The Alcaraz average in this context does not reach 60% and the circumstances do not help, even though the Murcian has the determination to become a teacher: little margin for preparation and adaptation, in addition to the erosion that They all accumulate for a calendar without head or tail, beyond the success of each in choosing the direction to follow between the official dynamic and the now supplementary one of million-dollar exhibitions. So everyone suffers and goes with what is fair despite the fact that, this time, the Spaniard claims to have landed with a touch more physical and emotional freshness. Now James Brown resounds loudly: “So Good!”, However, number three snorts, limps and concedes the first set, very weak in service: three points he has retained with the first, another three with the seconds. The trigger also fails.
Without detracting from Ruud's success in the return, the shortage is more in line with the Spaniard's deviated sights. Alcaraz is not happy and he also finds himself facing a rival who, no matter how earthly Whatever it is and no matter how much he usually dresses in sheep, he doesn't dislike this track. A mystery, but that's how it is. Semifinalist in 2021 and finalist in 2022, the Norwegian proposes his characteristic correction and waits with patience, sniffing out the doubts that spread to the other side of the net. “HeartCarlitos, heart!”, utters a Latin fan from the stands. And here he tries, trying to recover the disadvantage with five attempts to compensate for the break that end up going down the drain. There is no way. When he doesn't get it right, he finds an accurate answer.
Holed up in the back, barely peeking out of the net, he can't find a remedy in the left-handed shots – four misses in as many hits – and he can't quite see it clearly, although he remains patient, waiting for them to come at one time or another. visit the muses or that Ruud hesitates or takes a step back. Until then, 6-1 and a set up, all good on the part of the Scandinavian, but then the phase pays mooring: fears, so common. The bet goes wrong and Alcaraz becomes more aggressive, but then corrects himself. With the return to the line, more returns for him, supported by that linearity that in situations like this usually works; facing the instability of the other, balls inside. Simple, but effective. He returns the break and signs another one that ends up rewarding him. He jumps his entire bench with ace.
This is how he wins the victory that complicates his rival, with emergencies in the takeoff from a year ago and now again; Even more so, because then he lost in three sets and this time it was two, and under this format everything counts. The master roof, so difficult and so complex. Almost damn. Alcaraz knows this well, as he clings to what happened last year: then he came back to the semifinals.
