At Roland Garros,
Seeing Carlos Alcaraz falter for no reason under the pressure of a Parisian public more favorable to a fourth set against Tsitsipas than he was hostile to the Spaniard, we couldn’t help but take a little leap in the weather. Remember, in 2021. Carlitos, barely of age and vaccinated, collapsed in front of Hugo Gaston at Bercy under the dizzying effect of the crowd, despite a perfect start to the match. At the time, the colt of Juan Carlos Ferrero was angry with his nerves for having betrayed him. “It hurts me not to have been able to manage this pressure, he wrote after the meeting. But like everything in life, when you fall you have to know how to get up. The most important thing is to learn from these situations and I’m sure I’ll come back stronger once I learn the lesson. »
These words ring true, two years later, at Roland-Garros. Despite a patch of air and many match points harvested against an opponent who had returned against the current from the banks of the Styx, Alcaraz did not allow himself to be invaded by his Parisian demons. Better, he managed the third set tie-break like a Vietnam veteran. “I managed to refocus,” welcomed the young man at the microphone of Marion Bartoli after his victory. A sign of his total control, he was never behind in the decisive game, and brilliantly concluded at the net a match which could have taken an unexpected turn. The boss is him. Point.
Everything is too easy for Alcaraz
However, one question bothers us. If the Alcaraz project is already mentally mature at 20 years old, what room for improvement does it have left? . “There are a lot of things where I’m not very strong,” swears the world No. 1. But what ? The technique, the physique, the tactics? No ! On each of these aspects, the slider is already at an unreal level, as evidenced by the first two sets. One wonders how Stefanos Tsitsipas, visibly drowned in his bad faith, was able to declare after the meeting that Alcaraz “was great but not exceptional”, and that all this was only the fault of a badly programmed nap in Greek day.
Yes, there was ignition delay, no, Tsitsi wasn’t moving well and yes, he was missing too many easy shots. But, great god, opposite, we thought we were seeing Rafael Nadal in checkered cropped trousers and a tank top. Crazy forehands, Martian defenses, unfailing mobility and the same ease of breaking a one-handed backhand as Uncle Rafa. Without Tsitsipas’ burst of pride – to his credit – the case was over in an hour and a half, at the very most. That is to say the butcher’s shop. Alcaraz is not mistaken in claiming to hold there “one of my best matches of my career. With an interesting passage on the astonishing accuracy and feeling of ease emanating from his playing.
“Today, I would say that everything I did was easy, seemed easy for everyone and even for me. I tried to keep it simple. When I start doing a shot, it means I’m very comfortable, I’m sure it’s going to be in it. So it’s simple for me. »
Facing Djoko, youth against experience
Things will probably be less so against Novak Djokovic, although we are starting to worry about gluten-free grandpa, whose Alcaraz-Nadal lineage has not escaped. “He reminds me of someone who plays well with the left hand in his country, he laughed after his victory against Karen Khachanov. He deserves his achievements, there is no doubt about it. He works tirelessly. He is a very complete player. Anyway, I think a lot of people will want to see this game. »
An observation shared by Carlos Alcaraz and which particularly appeals to the Spaniard. “I’m looking forward to this game to fully enjoy it. For me, it’s incredible to write history, to play the semi-final against a player like Novak. It will be a great game for me. A final prognosis, Carlitos? “I’d like to think it was my youth [qui l’emporte], but it will be his 45th Grand Slam semi-final and it will be my second. I would say experience takes precedence over that. I’m not going to think about it too much. ” Well Named. Thinking too much about Paris doesn’t work for him.