Carlos Alcaraznumber 2 in the world, qualified this Monday for the round of 16 of the Miami Open, beating Frenchman Gael Monfils (n.47)who had problems with his left foot during the match, by 6-2 and 6-4 in one hour and 14 minutes
Recent champion in Indian Wells, the Spaniard will face the Italian Lorenzo Musetti (n.24) in the next round of this Masters 1,000, who defeated the American Ben Shelton (n.17) in the third round. Musetti took the victory against Shelton 6-4 and 7-6(5) in one hour and 52 minutes.
Alcaraz is going through a magnificent moment of form although this Monday he did not have to display the full potential of his tennis since The duel was marked by the physical problems of his rival in his left foot.. After just over a quarter of an hour of play (2-2, 0-30 for Alcaraz), Monfils, 37, hurt himself when hitting a backhand and momentarily went to the ground. He did not receive medical attention, but he stretched his left foot trying to quell the pain that, from then on, clearly hindered his mobility and precision in his blows. Just in that game Alcaraz got his first break of the afternoon and from then on he dominated the match with authority until he closed out the victory.
Before that mishap, Monfils had shown himself to be a dangerous opponent for Alcaraz, showing off his athletic ability, taking out the whip from his right and being aggressive with the rest. The one from El Palmar, who had won the only precedent so far between the two (round of 16 at Indian Wells in 2022), was delighted to accept the challenge and In the first games there were rallies of fascinating quality and intensity before Monfils’ left foot failed.
Alcaraz was very serious from start to finish and did not relax at all despite the Frenchman’s problems. He did not lose the thread of the duel, he successfully moved the ball from side to side, broke Monfils’ serve once again in the first set and scored the opening set in 32 minutes.
With resignation and a crooked smile, the Frenchman continued on the court although in the second set he gave up his first blank serve and lost his serve again shortly after (4-1). The only setback for Alcaraz was that he conceded a break (the only one of the entire match) when he served to win against a proud Monfils (5-3). But he corrected it with overwhelming solvency in his next turn to serve, finishing the victory without leaving room for any surprises and still had time to score some spectacular points that brought the public to their feet and that even Monfils greeted smiling.
The Murcian has become a nightmare for French tennis players, as he has accumulated a marvelous 12-1 against rivals from that country (his only loss was against Hugo Gaston in 2021 at the Paris Masters 1,000).
Jimmy Butler, player of the NBA’s Miami Heat and friend of Alcaraz, the Brazilian soccer player Neymar and the former Argentine tennis player Juan Martín Del Potro were some of the famous people who were seen this Monday in the stands of the Hard Rock Stadium.
Miami is a tournament that brings back good memories for Alcaraz since in 2022 he won his first Masters 1,000 title there. In 2023 he lost in the semifinals to the Italian Jannik Sinner (n.3) but now aspires to the double known as ‘Sunshine Double’, that is, becoming champion in the same year in Indian Wells and Miami.
Only seven male tennis players in history have achieved the ‘Sunshine Double’. Jim Courier (1991), Michael Chang (1992), Pete Sampras (1994), the Chilean Marcelo Ríos (1998) and Andre Agassi (2001) achieved it once, but Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic signed the ‘Sunshine Double’ several times. times: three in the case of the Swiss (2005, 2016 and 2017) and four in the case of the Serbian (2011, 2014, 2015, 2016). In the women’s competition, only four tennis players sealed that double in the same year: Steffi Graf (1994 and 1996), Kim Clijsters (2005), Victoria Azarenka (2016) and Iga Swiatek (2022).
Alcaraz: “Musetti is a really talented and tough tennis player”
Carlos Alcaraz, who will face Lorenzo Musetti in the round of 16 of the Miami Open, assured this Monday that the Italian is a “really talented and tough” tennis player. “I’m looking forward to playing against him and seeing how it will be,” the Spaniard said in a press conference.
The Murcian dominates his previous matches 2-1 against Musetti, a generational rival (he is 22 years old) who beat him in 2022 in the final in Hamburg. In 2023, the two duels between the two were for Alcaraz: in the round of 16 at Roland Garros and in the round of 16 in Beijing.
2024-03-26 01:16:41
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