When Rafa Nadal was defeated by Zverev, the Spaniards knew that only a tennis player could avenge the great king of French tennis. The Spanish tennis player had no choice but to face Roland Garros from the bottom of the rankings due to his injuries and that led him to fight with the German in the round of 64 where anything can happen.
Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz was not without problems against players like Wolf, De Jong, Corda or Sinner until he reached the final where Novak Djokovic was not going to be there after an untimely meniscus injury that will keep him in suspense for Wimbledon and the Olympic Games in Paris.
Alcaraz arrived in Paris healthy, but these injuries remain in the minds of great athletes, even if they are already recovered. The lack of confidence when hitting or not having clear ideas when studying his opponents made the player from Murcia suffer more than necessary to win the matches.
It has been 21 years since Juan Carlos Ferrero lifted the Musketeers trophy and now it was his pupil’s turn to do the same and mark the path left by Rafa Nadal. From the stands, Ferrero talks to Alcaraz. Small slogans, quick tips… phrases that are quickly assimilated so that he can put them into practice. Because the Spaniard makes important mistakes that he lives with, although he does not tolerate them and avoids making the same mistakes again.
But Carlos Alcaraz gets out of those mistakes with ease. He returns to his safety shots, those that made the giant Zverev had to bite the brick dust in low balls that his almost two meters make him impossible. Luck also came to stay with the Spaniard. Balls to the line, the judge working hard and coming down from the chair twice to mark balls and the millimetric hawk eye to give Alcaraz the right push when everything could fall.
In that fifth set there was a tense moment where Zverev was wronged by the chair umpire’s decision, who later refuted the hawk-eye: “In the fifth set there were moments when I was unlucky. I heard that the ball at 2-1 was out, that his second serve had gone according to the hawk-eye. I saw that. If I broke there, the fifth set could have ended differently,” explained the German.
“There’s a difference if you’re 3-1 down in the fifth set or if you’re tied 2-2. It’s a defining difference. And in the end it’s frustrating, but it is what it is. Umpires make mistakes, they’re also human and that’s it. But of course you want there to be no mistakes,” he reflected.
France has a new idol and he is Spanish. Although they may live the last dance of Nadal at the Olympics, Carlos Alcaraz has come to stay because he knows how to win Wimbledon and Roland Garros. If injuries let him compete regularly there will be few tennis players who are able to beat him, even Djokovic will have to leave the throne when he decides to hang up his racket.
At the age of 21, Alcaraz has decided to get the Eiffel Tower and the date 9 June 2024 tattooed on his left ankle to mark the tournament of tournaments. Good thing he has another ankle where the Olympic rings can fit.
