MADRID, 20 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz has prevailed this Tuesday in a much more disputed match than expected (4-6, 7-5 and 7-6[3]) to the French ‘lucky loser’ Arthur Rinderknech in the Queen’s tournament, in the ATP 500 category and which is played on grass in London (United Kingdom).
Alcaraz should have played against fellow Frenchman Arthur Fils, but he withdrew at the last moment and his compatriot Rinderknech took his place, who had lost in the last round of the qualifying round against the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.
In the first set, both players entered with great confidence with their serve, so much so that in the initial six games Alcaraz only gave up two points serving, to his rival’s three. In the seventh the Murcian did manage to do damage, but the three break balls that he had were solved by Rinderknech thanks to a quick display of serves and volleys.
After not materializing those options, doubts appeared and, furthermore, Rinderknech got a break to target caused by two unforced errors by Alcaraz. But when he served to close the set, the Frenchman was not able, despite the fact that he had a ball for it, and the Spaniard recovered to return the ‘break’.
After recovering the break, he was again unable to win his serve; Despite taking the lead at the first point, the problems returned and he made two unforced errors, while at the final point Rinderknech raised a great lob that forced the Murcian to close the point with a very difficult shot, which he sent from behind the line.
In the second set, and although the player from El Palmar recovered consistency with his serve, his rival did not lower his level. He did it relying on powerful serves and uploads to the net, which did not let the former world number one find his rhythm almost at no time.
The sleeve reached the eleventh game, where for the first time in the match the Frenchman’s nerves were noticed; He committed a double fault and two clear errors, which Alcaraz finished off with a spectacular ‘pass’ that left him in a position to equalize the score with his serve, where he did not fail to play in the decisive set for a pass to the second round.
In that third sleeve it seemed that the Murcian entered better; but, although he had two ‘break’ balls in the initial game, he was not able to complete them and the Frenchman took the lead. After saving that first game, in the second he returned to his best tennis to break the serve of the number one seed and go for the match.
Despite going two games down, the current US Open champion recovered to match the rest with a great game that closed the first and a service in which he only gave up one point improperly, in a very clear volley. With 2-2, the more sober Rinderkench returned to get his third game blank, to which his opponent responded sharply.
In the seventh game, Alcaraz managed to easily subtract the first ones; This, added to the fact that Gassin’s arm shrank at times, gave him a ‘break’ option in which he missed a clear right hand that would have given him an almost definitive advantage. Finally the Frenchman managed to prevail, the same as Alcaraz in the next one, taking the partial to four equals.
Alcaraz had his moment to define the game in the ninth with a break point, but he was not able to close it, which his rival did achieve with the serve. The rhythm was maintained until six to six, where despite suffering to achieve it, Alcaraz forced the ‘tie-break’.
In the tiebreaker, the difference in ranking was noticeable, Alcaraz went up one gear and closed the match without further problems, giving up only three points and culminating his pass to the second round after more than two and a half hours of battle.
The bitter face of the day for the Spaniards was put by Alejandro Davidovich and Bernabé Zapata. The man from Malaga fell (7-6, 6-3) against the Czech Jiri Lehecka in a duel where he started very well, breaking the rival’s serve at the start and placing himself at 5-2, enjoying two set balls that the Czech raised, who He ended up taking it with him in sudden death.
The Andalusian was unable to overcome and no longer recovered the level of the beginning of the game. After saving five break balls, he ended up giving up serve in the sixth game, a disadvantage that was insurmountable, his rival ending the game with a final 6-3, which makes him Alcaraz’s rival in the next round.
For his part, Bernabé Zapata had a difficult opponent in the American Taylor Fritz, whom he battled before losing in two sets 6-4, 7-5 in a match where he did not have a single opportunity to beat the rest, winning only ten points on the powerful serve of his rival, which made him pay dearly for the ‘break’ that he conceded in each of the sleeves.
2023-06-20 16:41:23
#Alcaraz #suffers #win #premiere #Queens
