Neither rain nor Tommy Paul can with Alcaraz | sports

Not a week has passed since Carlos Alcaraz last faced Tommy Ball in the quarterfinals in Canada where he defeated the Spanish American. But this time it was different because of the rain, which was present on three occasions, and extended the match to five hours, and because of the match presented by Morcian who was finally liked and began to recover the sensations that he showed. At Roland Garros and Wimbledon. The guy from El Palmar was not ready to fall again against the same competitor on the same surface and eight days apart. On this occasion, luck fell on the Spanish side in another great match, tough and even. He will have the opportunity to maintain the level shown, during the rainy evening in Cincinnati, in the quarter-final against Australian Max Purcell (70 in classification) tonight, not earlier than 9:00 pm (Movistar +).

The world number one knows that the US Open is approaching, that he is defending 2000 points and that he is already fighting with Djokovic for the first place. And that was noticeable from the start because Carlitos was seen different, different, as if he hadn’t been seen since the beginning of the American tour. He was more involved in the field and dominated with his right hand, his best shot and which has been his weak point these weeks so far. The track helped too, much faster than the Canadian track. Nevertheless, the American, one of the most fit and dangerous players today, continued to do his job, pushing his serve forward, moving quickly around the court and not being affected by the improved version of the Spaniard.

This is why he always makes Alcaraz suffer, it teases him a lot because he knows how to defend himself against his attacks and also knows how to throw him off the track. Thus came Paul’s break, which put up 5-2 in 30 minutes. Murcian also struggled against the wind, which produced an odd bounce and neutralized the speed of his balls. When the Toronto Ghosts showed up, Carlitos clung to the track and brought out the personality and mental strength of the first man to tie the game at 5-5. From there, he refined and brought back the dominant version of Spanish. Above all, in Tie break Where it was made with the first set.

In the second set, the mechanics of the first set were repeated, and Alcaraz lost his serve to regain it in the next game. From here the forces were balanced, the Morcians continued confidently but Paul held on, who again raised the intensity. Produce this commas and counter commas Steady between one and the other until it reaches 4-4. “Positive, he thinks he’ll get out,” Ferrero assured him. And everything that the Spaniard hears is done, who, despite losing the serve, prevented him from going to the third set, defended against a set piece, and re-breaked based on dropped shots and winning.

Taking that game out was a morale shot for the Spaniard and kept Paul out. All seemed well and Alcaraz had three match balls, but was unable to hit the mark and after a fifteen-minute match, the second set also went to hell.no break. As he lamented the three-way loss, the American bounced back, taking the tiebreaker 7-0 and the match went to the third-last set.

Alcaraz made a clean slate, as he couldn’t bear to leave the game as feelings were positive. Ferrero warned him again: “It’s time to be tough.” And once again the El Palmar man got down to business unstoppable and broke Paul’s serve with determination. At the best pole position moment when he was going for more and was close to victory, the rain showed up. They had been in the game for three hours and heavy rain forced them to go to the locker room at the most important moment.

Groundhog Day in Cincinnati

An hour after the last point and with 4-3 in favor of Murcian, the duel would have resumed, but another cloud cleared and the match did not resume. The kicker laughed because he didn’t cry seeing how he couldn’t close the match because of the rain and not make use of the three match balls. The third time seemed to be the charm and the two players were out again. The match resumed, putting Alcaraz 5-3 in one of the quarter-finals, but again the never-ending story. More rain and the two young men laughed as they took refuge in the gymnasium again in the face of such a surreal situation. The scene was so unreal that even Carlitos took the opportunity to close his eyes and take a small nap for a few seconds.

The sky cleared, the lights came on and the stands were filled for the fourth time. Now yes, he was playing again and Alacáraz, tired of waiting and waiting, finished the game before Paul returned to the burnout. Three hours and fifteen minutes after the first match point, and after three stops due to rain, the first player took revenge on the American (7-6 (4), 6-7 (0), 6-3) and agreed to the quarter-finals after five and a half hours from the meeting.

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