Carlos Alcaraz started the match against Rinderknech winning a couple of scoreless games on serve, but it didn’t take him long to have problems on the grass and it didn’t take him long to find solutions to come back and win (4-6, 7-5 and 7-6 [7/3]) in a harsh premiere that lasted two hours and 34 minutes.
The background is important: Alcaraz played junior Wimbledon in 2019, passed three rounds and fell in the quarterfinals; he played Wimbledon 2021, and overcame one match and lost in the second against Medvedev; and Wimbledon 2022, where he reached the round of 16. Total: 7 wins and 3 losses on the most special surface in the world of tennis, plus some training, but not at home, because he doesn’t have courts of that type in Villena or Murcia.
For each return to the grass it is necessary to take out the notes and remember, it is like having to take out the instruction book, for the brain to remember that what was like this a few weeks ago, is now like this, but… Because the ball bounces less and you have to play more crouched, because you can’t slip, because it’s more difficult to adjust and maintain your balance and defend. You have to take small steps and be careful when braking and changing direction. It’s attacking tennis and Carlos loves to play attacking, everything adds up, but it’s not that simple. In order to be offensive, it is necessary to hit the ball well, the shot before going to the net, and it was difficult for the Murcian to position himself. He was sluggish and couldn’t get there in time to plant and accelerate with his right.
“I need hours on court, it’s good to have had such a tough match”
It all started, actually, a little backwards because Alcaraz’s rival in his debut at Queen’s was Fils, a 19-year-old Frenchman, but he resigned and his compatriot Rinderknech entered in his place, 196 centimeters tall and with the clearest ideas of what to do on grass. He would serve and go on the attack, or as soon as he could land a well-placed forehand, he would also visit the net. Carlos was not comfortable and he did not even calm down when he achieved the first break. It was to get 4-5, but then he played a really bad game. He attacked senselessly with blows that didn’t give him an advantage, threw some right hand… And he received the break again, which was final. The difference in sensations was enormous.
It was clear that the game was going to be a drama, but there was also time to keep remembering the lessons. “I thought it was going to get better, that I would feel better. I need this, hours on the track, playing as much as I can. It’s good for me to have such a tough game,” she later acknowledged. Alcaraz began to serve and volley more, and to reach the ball better. He began to see more of the player than he is. He arrived the first real “let’s go”, he raised his fist in the direction of his box, where Samuel López, Carreño’s coach (the man from Gijón is injured) is because this week Juan Carlos Ferrero has taken a rest. The forces equalized and a touch of genius from the Spaniard allowed him to take the second set, breaking with a forehand-banana of those that seems to go wide, but he ends up touching the line.
He did not lose face to the Rinderknech match, which started the final quarter with a threatening 2-0. He put Carlos to the limit, who grabbed the game with everything. Especially with some fantastic returns to try to nullify his rival’s raises, and moving better to arrive better and hit better, although on a couple of occasions he ended up on the ground, a classic in the early days of tournaments on grass. He had to serve twice to survive, and he didn’t hesitate. He forced the tie break and there he even managed some unthinkable defenses on grass, but that he can also do. He was much superior in the tiebreaker and took a win that is worth a lot. Carlos still has more room for improvement here than on other surfaces, and at a press conference he explained a way to do it: “I have always said that on grass you have to move well and from there everything else. Speaking for myself, I like Put on videos of Federer, of Murray, who are among the players who move the best on grass. I’m not going to talk about Djokovic because he slides like dirt and that’s not going to be my case. It’s not how they hit anymore, because each one He has his style, but see how they move, and try to imitate them”
In the round of 16, Carlos is waiting for the Czech Lehecka, Davidovich’s executioner (7-6 and 6-4). In addition, Bernabé Zapata could not with Fritz (6-4 and 7-5).
2023-06-21 05:03:54
#tennis #players #watches #videos #improve #movements
