The impossible happened this morning in New York. Carlos Alcaraz he wasn’t on the ropes. She was on the mat. He and Jannik Sinner had killed each other with impossible blows all night, but the Italian hit when it hurt the most, on the points that tilt games. With 5-4 against the Spaniard, two sets up for the Italian, four hours of play and an eternal battle that will remain in the history of the US Open, Alcaraz lost a break ball that would have given him his life. Like so many others in this battle, he didn’t materialize it. Sinner had match point in his favor, with his serve.
Alcaraz was resurrected. He raised the match point, the game and the set. It was around two in the morning in New York and an hour later the match was won (6-3, 6-7, 6-7, 7-5 and 6-3).
There is a lot of discussion these days in New York about the end of an era in tennis. For the first time since 2003, the quarterfinals of a ‘Grand Slam’ were reached without the presence of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer or Serena Williams. This Wednesday, Sinner and Alcaraz assured not only that there is a splendid future. But also a spectacular present.
The Italian, 21, and the Spanish, 19, threaten to form one of the historic rivalries in tennis. Sinner came into the match as the youngest tennis player to reach the quarterfinals of the ‘big’ four. And Alcaraz, with the possibility of becoming the youngest number one in history.
on the track, the show was extraordinary. It was five sets of the best possible tennis. One of the best duels in history in the New York central and, without a doubt, the game of the year.
Within it, the best point of the tournament was also seen: it was almost midnight in New York and Alcaraz lit up the chicuelina in tennis. A blow from behind the back, bullfighter, which will go down in the history of the US Open. The Murcian wrapped his racket around his body and returned a right hand from Sinner, who had won the point at midcourt. It is not an unknown maneuver in tennis, but Alcaraz executed it with the finesse of Morante’s cape.
hours
is how long the marathon duel between Alcaraz and Sinner lasted, one of the best matches in the history of the US Open
The clocks did not stop, they kept ticking until the end: five hours and a quarter of the game, which lasted until almost three in the morning. The US Open has never been played so late. Those who left will never have regretted leaving their seats so much.
Tennis was high voltage from the beginning. Sinner appeared somewhat less focused than Alcaraz, who came out to eat the game from the start.
“How are we going to play it? With eggs, right? ”, He was heard saying to the coach of him, John Charles Ferrero, from the corner. You didn’t have to tell Alcaraz twice, who has plenty of courage.
The Spaniard sought to be aggressive in the rest, going ahead, eating the ball from the Italian to dominate the points. It is something that did not come out in the previous game, with the giant Marin Cilic, but yes in this one. He broke Sinner’s serve midway through the set and closed it out with a couple of masterful strikes, an unbeatable backhand lob, for the academies, and a definitive violent return.
The wind of the game was in favor of Alcaraz, despite the fact that Sinner showed an enormous level. Alcaraz not only arrested him, as Ferrero requested. Also an extraordinary game The Italian was no less: moved up a gear from the second set and the duel became a legendary exchange of blows: impossible early bounces, crossed drops, tight lobs and, above all, violent rallies, of increasing intensity, unsustainable.
a magnificent match
Sinner also tried to get ahead of Alcaraz’s serve, with which he barely managed to hurt the Italian for almost the entire match. With everything very even, the ‘tie break’ was reached and the currency fell on the Italian side.
The problem for Alcaraz is that he didn’t take advantage of his opportunities. He missed more than half a dozen ‘break’ balls. A hole that deepened in the third set. The shadow of ‘who forgives, pays’ appeared over Alcaraz. Sinner took the ‘tie break’ again. And he did it blank. The Murcian appeared touched and had to win two sets against an Italian without cracks in his tennis.
By then, all seemed lost. Alcaraz lost his serve at the first change. Sinner did not lower the level, quite the opposite. He improved his serve and the Spanish did not hurt him. He advanced to 3-1. Then at 5-4, after fantastic points, he got that match point.
From that moment, the epic of Alcaraz. Miraculously, he recovered and pocketed the fourth set.
The fifth and final was shocking. They had been in the legs for more than four and a half hours and the rallies were electric. Alcaraz no longer hit with his racket, but with his heart. Serves were broken. The public believed that Sinner would win and the opposite. Alcaraz raised his arms, high fives with the public on the side. A point of maximum tension gave Sinner the chance to break serve. The champion came out at the most necessary moment. He won it. And, right after, the service appeared. He closed like the greats, with a direct serve. Alcaraz dumped his beaten body onto the New York track. He hugged Sinner excitedly. He sank to his knees. He was already eternal.
Alcaraz thus reaches the semifinals of a ‘big’ for the first time. He will face the American Frances Tiafoe, Nadal’s executioner. If he beats him and reaches the final, this Sunday he could become the youngest world number one in history.
