Australian Open: Carlos Alcaraz goes through Draper’s withdrawal and puts pressure on Djokovic

Carlos Alcaraz He has equaled his best result at the Australian Open. The Murcian has slipped into the top eight for the second year in a row on the slopes of Melbourne Park after ending the resistance of the giant Jack Draper, 7-5, 6-1 and retirement. It had been played for 1 hour and 35 minutes. “I’m sad because nobody likes to win like that,” said the winner at the conclusion.

Alcaraz remembered Draper at the time of signing in the filming chamber: “You’re going to get where you deserve. Get well soon Jack.”

There are already 10 Carlitos presences in the quarters of the ‘majors’ of the racket. In the Open Era, only Rafael Nadal (47) and David Ferrer (17) added more. The young man from El Palmar has broken the tie with Juan Carlos Ferrero, who is his coach.

Draper, after 15 sets and 12 hours and 34 minutes on his legs, He could not keep up with the pace of his executioner, much less the conditions of extreme heat in which the duel was played.. In Melbourne it reached 33 degrees this Sunday when Carlitos scored the first set and Draper was treated in the locker room.

It should be remembered that the British He had a hip injury last December that prevented him from traveling to the Ferrero Tennis Academy to carry out the preseason with Alcaraz. Everything was prepared for it. He had even sent a special bicycle from London to Villena to carry out a specific job.

The third favorite knew that the time to go for the prey was at the beginning of the second act. That’s why it accelerated to 3-0. Draper avoided the rosco. He couldn’t take it anymore and brought out the white flag ahead of time. The Spaniard has changed his service to be more effective. He presented 68 percent of first serves and only lost 19 points in the position of the ball..

Djokovic, on the horizon
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The draw for the painting, held on January 9, gave Alcaraz the possibility of facing Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. A victory for the Serbian against Jiri Lechecka would cause that circumstance on Tuesday. “I’m going to watch the match even though I don’t know where I’m going to be. I’ve already played a few times with Djokovic and I’ve also played with Lehecka,” said the four-time champion. He has already done the work.