Alcaraz gets a scare

Carlos Alcaraz did not come with too many expectations to Wimbledon. He threw the first stone: «Tournament I’m going to, tournament I want to win», but he also took it with caution: «I’m not the favorite here at all». And when Jan-Lennard Struff had him on the ropes, it was explained why. The Murcian, in his debut at the All England Club in this edition of the tournament, had to overcome Struff (4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (3) and 6-4) to get an emotional victory and solve the first scare of the tournament.

Alcaraz came without preparation prior to the London Grand Slam and noticed it from the beginning, with problems adapting to the German’s serves, like a fish in water on court 1 with the roof closed due to the rain that disrupted the start of the day and later forced to suspend ten games.

With limited experience on the surface and the bandage on his elbow that has accompanied him throughout the week of training in London, Alcaraz started a couple of marches behind an out of shape Struff, with twelve defeats in his last thirteen games , but to which this surface feels like a glove.

His service, together with Alcaraz’s doubts, allowed him to deepen the match and find the way to put himself a set ahead and wake up the nerves of the Spaniard, who needed minutes and minutes to settle on the grass. Breaking balls and opportunities arrived and based on insisting, Alcaraz leveled the match.

But it was not a definitive slap. Struff clung to his power to lengthen the contest and put Alcaraz in the thesis of having to come back from a 2-1 loss. Like against Albert Ramos at Roland Garros, but this time without the match point guillotine against him. Once again, in adversity, Alcaraz moved like a fish in water, with the push as well as an audience with whom he connects perfectly and who considers him a favorite to support given the lack of local talent capable of achieving the achievements that, at 19 years old, the one from El Palmar already has.

While Alcaraz continued adding ‘aces’ to his backpack, until collecting 30 – “the best game of my life on serve” -, the game leaned towards drama, especially when Struff went ahead in the ‘tie break’ of the fourth set. But the advantage was short-lived. Alcaraz took four points in a row in the tiebreak that guided the match towards the fifth set, a place in which the Murcian is almost infallible. Of the five matches he has seen on this stage, he has won four.

It was not an outrage, but Alcaraz waited for the opportunity and the mental weakness of a Struff to take advantage of the second ‘break’ ball he had in the fifth and win the game while the stadium gave him the wave.

Davidovich, surprise

Alejandro Davidovich threw one of the towers of the tournament. The man from Malaga eliminated Hubert Hurkacz, seventh seed and one of the favorites to be in the semifinals of the pools, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 5-7, 2-6 and 7-6 (8) . Davidovich prevailed in a crazy match that he was able to seal in three sets, but wasted a 40-0 serve. Hurkacz, recent champion in Halle, overcame the deficit of two sets and served to win the match in the fifth.

A late comeback for the Spaniard forced the super playoff and, after rallying from a 4-7 deficit there, he clinched victory on fifth match point.