More consistent, more aggressive, more serene: the Carlos Alcaraz on Friday evening in Buenos Aires (Argentina) was much more convincing than the version observed on Wednesday for his big return to the circuit after three months of absence.
In the quarter-finals, against the Serbian qualifier Dusan Lajovic, 90th in the world but still dangerous on clay four years after his final in Monte Carlo, the 19-year-old Spaniard never really trembled.
Under the eyes of Sabatini
This match, the world number two started it perfectly with an entry break, very little waste and a forehand already set in “bulldozer” mode. « Olé, olé, olé, olé… Carlos, Carlos! » sang, after only three games, the 5,000 spectators of the Guillermo-Vilas court, not cooled by the low 14 degrees of the evening (in the middle of summer in Argentina).
The only alert in this first set for Alcaraz: a very bad service game at 4-2, offered to Lajovic with four unforced errors. But helped by his superior power and the few gifts from his opponent at the end of the set, the winner of the last US Open won 6-4.
Round two felt like round one, minus the mid-set scare. The Spaniard got the break again at the first opportunity and maintained constant aggression. A final supersonic forehand winner sealed the deal, as former Argentine champion Gabriela Sabatini looked on. 6-4, 6-2 in 1h33: job well done.
“I was close to my best level”
“I felt better than Wednesday, in all areas: I was more confident, my shots were more solid, I was better physically too, confirmed Alcaraz in a press conference, visibly cleared of his right leg injury which caused him to miss the Australian Open. Honestly, I was close to my best today. I just have to keep accumulating matches to get there. »
Next test this Saturday in the semi-finals against his compatriot Barnabé Zapata Miralles, 74th. The opportunity for “Charly” (or “Carlitos”, it is according to, for his Argentinian fans) to continue his march towards the reconquest of the first place in the world, objective assumed by the Spaniard at the beginning of the week.
