It was not in the forecasts Carlos Alcaraz move so easily to the quarterfinals of the Open the Australia. But his rival, Jack Draperdecided to quit after losing the second set. The Spanish beat him by 7-5 and 6-1 in 95 minutes when his opponent retired crestfallen. He suffered a considerable beating from 15 sets and more than 12 hours of their three previous matches and his body, which usually plays tricks on him, said enough. The 23-year-old British man, 18th in the world, was treated in the locker room. at the end of the first round due to some discomfort in his hip, which was not resolved by the treatment of the tournament physio.
“It is not the way I want to win and advance to the next round”said Alcaraz. “I’m happy, obviously, to play another quarter-final here in Australia, but very sad for Jack, because he’s a great person. He didn’t deserve to be injured. He could not prepare this start of the season as he wanted due to injuries. I’m a little sad for him, but I’m sure he’ll come back stronger, like he always does. I wish you a speedy recovery.”added the Murcian, with a lot of class.
Without wear and tear, Alcaraz will play for the second time, and consecutively, the penultimate round of the oceanic tournament. And he could do it against Novak Djokovic, if the Serbian can beat the Czech Jiri Lehecka in the night session at the Rod Laver Arena. It is the 10th time he has reached it in Grand Slams. This makes him equal to Becker, Borg and Wilander as the players with the most appearances in the quarterfinals in the Open Era (since 1968) aged 21 or younger.
As for Spanish tennis, he is the fifth to arrive more than once in the Aussie Open, after Nadal (14)Ferrer (6) and Ferrer and Moyá (2). Among the four majors, he is already third on the Navy’s list. He overtakes his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero (9).
-Before the unwanted end of the match, Alcaraz went ahead with a break in the sixth game of the match and seemed ready, but Draper broke him and with a partial 3-0 they equalized (5-5). Carlos, angry with the chair umpire for some double faults at 5-4 caused, in his opinion, by the time lost by going for the towel, recovered and made another break to close the first set. The tennis player from Sutton had given Carlos problems before. In fact, last year he beat him at Queen’s, and until then he competed. From there, after being treated, he could not cope with the pace of the El Palmar prodigy.
“I am happy with the level at which I am playing. I feel very comfortable here in Australia and I feel good physically, which is very important entering the second week of a Grand Slam. I think I’m doing the right thing off the slopes too. “It is my second quarterfinal and I hope to go far.”. To achieve this you will have to find your best version, because dangerous curves lie ahead. Possibly, Djokovic and Zverev before a hypothetical final against Sinner.
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