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The young man who threatens to revolutionize Roland Garros

BarcelonaThe revolution has reached the men’s tennis circuit. After years of three men sitting alone at a table handing out the big headlines, this 2022 has all but exploded. The young Murcian Carlos Alcaraz, 19, is threatening to turn the circuit upside down just now when the second Grand Slam of the season, Roland Garros, begins. The first was already atypical, because the great dominator of the last two years, Novak Djokovic, was expelled from Australia for not wanting to be vaccinated. The Serb has returned to the tracks and will be in France to try to win the title, but has failed to regain emotional or sporting stability after a brief stoppage in Australia. In addition, Roland Garros is the great territory of Rafa Nadal. But the Mallorcan has a rival at home, Alcaraz.

Djokovic is 35 years old and Nadal is 36. The Manacor player has won thirteen times at the Roland Garros center court. No other player has ever won the same Grand Slam tournament so many times. His dominance over French clay is total, but at the last Mútua Open in Madrid, on clay, Alcaraz defeated him. Nadal, with physical problems, has also punctured in Rome. He doesn’t arrive on time, but in the past he has already shown that he can win when people doubt him.

In Rome he has managed to improve his game Djokovic, who is looking to win the 21st Grand Slam to match Nadal, the champion in Australia. The Serb, in fact, is the reigning Roland Garros champion, because he won in 2021 by defeating the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final. “This year we saw how he took advantage of a few weeks that he didn’t compete, partly because of a break in the calendar and partly because of a positive for covid-19, to do a physical jump. He did a lot of gym, he stopped having a body. as a youngster to be stronger “, explains David Ayuela, who was his coach in the Spanish junior tennis team that won the Davis Cup. “He masters many aspects of the game and, above all, he has the mental strength of Rafa Nadal. He is well advised, in addition,” he added, referring to Juan Carlos Ferrero, who leads his team. The tennis player discovered him at his academy on a summer campus and after leaving the team of the German Alexander Zverev opted for Alcaraz. At the age of 14, the Murcian added points for the first time in the ATP classification, but the first years were hard. “We had to fly to Brazil and drive across the country to play tournaments, and sleep where we could. Charlie Brown it’s special, “Ferrero told SER this week.

But they are all suffering from the arrival of Hurricane Alcaraz. At 19, he has defeated them all this season. Tsitsipas, for example, was defeated in the last U.S. Open on the fast track, when at the age of 18 he reached the quarterfinals. Now he wants to go further on clay after winning three tournaments these years: Miami, the Godó in Barcelona and the Open Mútua in Madrid. In addition, his record against players of the top 10 It’s incredible. He has played fifteen times against top ten rivals and has won ten times.

To prepare for Roland Garros, Alcaraz has decided not to take part in the Rome tournament. This season he has lost just three games, in Australia in five sets against Matteo Berrettini, in the Indian Wells semifinals against Rafa Nadal and in the second round of Monte Carlo against Sebastian Korda. “His best game should come on clay. But Roland Garros is a Grand Slam. Five-set matches. It’s a different scenario in which Nadal and Djokovic know how to compete. It will be a test for Alcaraz,” according to Ayuela. . Veteran Roger Federer will be out due to injury. Yes, it will be the Russian Daniil Medvedev, absent in some tournaments due to the expulsion of Russian players due to the war in Ukraine, and also due to an injury. His condition is unknown, although he aspires to beat Djokovic, the world number one.

Paula Badosa’s great opportunity

In the women’s category it is difficult to know who will rule after seeing how Australian Ashleigh Barty, champion of the first Grand Slam of the season and world number 1, decided to retire at 26 years old. Czech Barbora Krejčíková gave the surprise a year ago, although the favorite would be the Polish Iga Świątek, who has just won in Rome on clay.

The Catalan Paula Badosa is also one of the favorites. In fact, in recent weeks he has stated: “I would change my position in the world rankings, to be second or third, to be able to win a Grand Slam, especially Roland Garros.” Badosa has won a hard court tournament in Sydney this year, but fell in the fourth round of the Australian Open. In fact, in the major tournaments he has only reached the quarterfinals once, and has managed to rise to the world rankings thanks to his perseverance in other tournaments. Shining in one of the four big tournaments remains the big challenge. The only time he performed at a high level was a year ago, at Roland Garros, when he was one step away from the semi-finals and lost in three sets to Slovakia’s Tamara Zidanšek.

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