Carlos Alcaraz: The Next Generation of Spanish Tennis

The Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz, in an archive photograph. EFE/EPA/Joel Carrett

In Australia, where the pioneers laid the foundation stone for the takeoff of Spanish tennis, with Manuel Santana at the helm, Carlos Alcaraz was about to give another twist, one hitherto unknown in his record, such as coming back from two sets down. . The feat will have to wait after Zverev won an epic match (6-1 / 6-3 / 6-7 / 6-4). It is difficult to extract from Carlos Alcaraz’s memories a match in which he was so overwhelmed by his rival, although he finished it with a late and insufficient reaction.

Against Zverev the possibility of victory in Australia disappeared and Carlitos’s game was minimized, especially in his serve. Until the match against the German, his service games followed one after another with the same outcome: game for Alcaraz. I got it from him, a strength born from a recent improvement. In the entire tournament, the Murcian had only given up one break, against Lorenzo Sonego in the second round, and had accumulated two consecutive matches, against Juncheng Shang and Mionir Kecmanovic, without conceding a single break opportunity. However, Zverev scored seven in the quarterfinal match and criticism of Alcaraz’s serve became harsher.

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“I think his serve leaves a lot to be desired. It’s one of the things that I think hasn’t improved much in the last two years. I remember when I saw him when he broke through, although we already knew something about him, but when he won in Miami a couple of years ago he was serving at 135 miles per hour (217 km/h), and now I feel that he is serving at 127 miles per hour (204 km /h)”, commented Andy Roddick, a former tennis player who stood out for his powerful serve. “He is neither a very powerful server nor someone who can cause excessive discomfort with changes in height, speed and spin. “I think he serves well with a lot of effect from the side of advantage, with which he manages to displace his rivals, but beyond that, he does not manage to put the receiver in trouble, who feels comfortable against him,” he added.

The world number one in tennis, Carlos Alcaraz, has three brothers. Two of them are also involved in the world of tennis

During his career he has had inspired matches, such as in 2022 at Wimbledon, when he added 30 aces against Jan-Lennart Struff or last year in Madrid, when he reached 225 km/h against Alexander Zverev, precisely against whom he faltered in Australia. The reason for Roddick’s criticism has been one of the points on which Carlos focused most during the preseason with his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero. “He insists that I must maintain the intensity all the time and it is something I am working on,” admitted Alcaraz. “Juan Carlos asks him, without losing his speed and strength, to be more consistent. Let him score more good serves in a row,” confessed Antonio Cascales, a member of the Alcaraz team.

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Before the match against Zverev of Australia, Carlos has improved his serve compared to last season. His first serve percentage (68% to 66%) and, above all, he has increased the points won with that first serve (78% to 72%). Although, as Roddick pointed out, Alcaraz could improve the slice serve, giving a little more spin to move him away from his rivals, and enhance a topspin that takes a big bounce and can be very useful on clay and in general for second serves. The peace of mind with Carlos is that he has already covered part of that journey in the preseason and the effort is guaranteed.

The Buenos Aires clay court is the first stop to demonstrate that it has achieved its continuity. The Buenos Aires tournament is a tournament with a lot of Spanish flavor. David Ferrer has the record for titles (2012, 2013 and 2014), Nicolás Almagro, for victories (29), Ferrer the oldest (21 in 2014) and Alcaraz is the youngest champion (19 years old in 2023). The new date on his calendar is Buenos Aires, where he defends his title and was exempt from the first round. It will be this Thursday, starting in the round of 16, when the contest for the number two in the world begins, who will face, in a night session, a local player who dreams of surprising him: Camilo Ugo Carabelli.

2024-02-15 04:24:00
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