Miami Masters 2024: Alcaraz defeats Monfils and enters the round of 16 in Miami | Tennis | Sports

Gael Monfils, always fun, wants to play, but in front of him he runs into a boy who adopts the role of the veteran, the serious, the practical, who saves the flourishes for another day and exercises with determination and a sharp look, in a straight line. Little joke. Only a slight relaxation in the final stretch that the Miami public appreciates, because otherwise, the story would have had no more substance than to corroborate the state of grace of Carlos Alcaraz. He bursts into El Palmar like a locomotive and prints more and more rhythm, heavy ball and pendulum exercise, ball from one side to the other until the Frenchman, touched by his Achilles heel, raises the white flag relatively quickly. If it already looked difficult for him, a bad gesture in the support condemns the veteran and – with 2-2 in the first set – he rolls out the red carpet for the Murcian’s pass, this resounding, powerful, incontestable one. Full: 6-2 and 6-4, in 1h 14m.

No two-voice show, no give and take. Pure and simple efficiency. Spectacular, yes, but just the right one. An overwhelming domain. Although the poster could invite in advance to think of a rather circus duel, due to the recreational spirit of the two, free verses, the Spaniard, already present in the round of 16 of this Miami Masters, decants with authority and continues to grow in this sweet stretch of March. He will clash this Tuesday (not before 8:30 p.m., Movistar+) with another fine artist, Lorenzo Musetti (6-4 and 7-6(5) to Ben Shelton), and harangues the viewer with his signature on the lens: Feel the magic, feel the magic. The Spaniard has something of a magician, capable of inventing any trick and making difficult things easy, of laughing in circumstances of maximum tension and of giving a friendly smile to his rival, who is losing but nods because he has no other choice, simply surrendered to what evident. He succeeds Monfils this time.

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The Frenchman, now the most veteran of the circuit’s noble floor, quickly crashes into the wall. He flirts during the first four games, until he rectifies and when he puts his foot down to return the backhand, he feels a sting. He puts his hand on the back of his ankle and it hurts, and from then on, he resists the avalanche as best he can. Alcaraz, 17 years younger, strikes with determination and traces an unbridgeable abyss for the Frenchman, who came with optimism – Doha semi-finals and Indian Wells round of 16 – and leaves dizzy, gasping, drowning; as if they had put it in the drum of a washing machine and applied a program of 1,500 revolutions. “He’s everywhere, he’s crazy,” he slips to his coach, Mikael Tillstrom, who doesn’t really know what to say. The look speaks: friend, do what you can. And Monfils can do little, other than take advantage of the scarce concession at the end and stretch the gum a little, knowing he is already absolutely lost.

“Gael is a great athlete and reaches almost all the balls. That’s why he had to be patient and, at the same time, try to dominate with my forehand, dominate the point and move it all over the court. “It has worked very well,” notes the satisfied winner, who closes with four breaks and destroys the Frenchman’s second serve, able to retain only three of 17. Without hot cloths, Alcaraz does more or less what he wants, what the player asks of him. body at every moment. Exquisite in execution, he leaves a Federerian volley and at the best point of the match, he shakes Monfils from one side to the other until he runs out of breath and throws the racket desperately, surrendered, resigned to so much vigor, so much strength and so much technique. Applauding from the stands are his friend Jimmy Butler, the (footballer?) Neymar and the great Argentine tower, Juan Martín del Potro, the one who ended up devoured by injuries (wrists and knees) and who had one of the most dizzying right hands ever. They have known. The one from Alcaraz, a lightning bolt, has nothing to envy.

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2024-03-26 00:24:11
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