There he is again, again in action, with his temples shaved to the ground and showing teeth while he walks on the grass of the historic Bombonera in Boca and then screams from the tribune where Maradona sang. A xeneize more chanting: “Xooohh, I love you daaaaar…!” Ready to take another bite of this brief Latin American tour on clay that is beginning to become a tradition. First Buenos Aires, then Rio de Janeiro. “Last year I came because I couldn’t play in Australia and I needed games, but this time I came for a good reason: I loved it. I had been wanting to play here for a long time because Juan Carlos [Ferrero, su entrenador] won and because many Spaniards had spoken very well to me about the tournament. The people are wonderful and the vibes are special. “There is very good energy,” says the Murcian, ready to get back on track and try to repeat the beautiful ladder of last year, February, March and April for glory: trophy here, final there, first Indian Wells and then the Godó and the Magic Box. Poker!
“Last year was the year of consolidation, and that is usually the most difficult. People wondered if it could repeat what happened in 2022 [otros cuatro títulos] and he got it. He showed that he was not a flash in the pan, and that he also knew how to perform under pressure,” says Antonio Martínez Cascales, Ferrero’s goldsmith and now guru of the Alcaraz team, the tennis player with a thousand tricks and, also, says Cascales, the 20-year-old boy who is beginning to assimilate that magic is not enough. “You can trust inspiration, but if you don’t get in front of the painting and work… Bad business. People who are very good also need tenacious work. Of course, his style cannot be taken away, eh? “Continues the man who built the Villena academy in which the new figure is polished and that two decades ago, when he directed Johnny, that winning Ferrero, has already seen the blossoming of a certain Rafa. Now, that unbridled prodigy of Manacor was going in the opposite direction, he specifies.
“When he was 20 years old, Nadal ran everything, even the balls that went into the hallway, even in warm-ups. He had that base consistency and from there he sought evolution, but with Carlos it is the other way around, the opposite; He is capable of doing any genius, but he needs to gain that regularity, more consistency in all fields, not just in the serve,” says Cascales, who notices a significant change in Villena’s daily routine. “Since the preseason I have noticed that Carlitos has taken a leap in professionalism. He is more mature, he works more days at one hundred percent. Before, if one day I didn’t have a good feeling… Now, for the moment, no. He has returned from Australia and continues with that dynamic of wanting to work well every day. I also bite him, and he enters the trap because he is very challenging. In Turin [noviembre, Copa de Maestros] I told him that he didn’t do any flat open serves, that he threw them all with curves, and against the Russian [Medvedev] He turned around, winked at me and told me: this one is for you. She nailed it.”
This is how Alcaraz spends it, who after passing through Melbourne (defeat in the quarterfinals against Alexander Zverev) is looking for the good stimuli of Buenos Aires, a land of dribbles, pastures and fields, just the way he likes it. “I feel very confident. I played some good tennis in Australia and the land training has been very good so far. Physically I’m fine, so let’s see how we do here,” transmits the one from El Palmar, who is initially superior to Ugo Carabelli (6-2 and 7-5, in 1h 45m) and who defines himself without hesitation: ” “Ambitious boy, very competitive, who always wants to win at everything.” He does not hide in the message. “Yes, he usually takes a bit of risk… But he also knows how to be self-critical and sincere. He and Rune are like that, more forward. On the other hand, Sinner expresses himself in a different way, although I am sure that he thinks exactly the same as them,” says Cascales, who respectfully observes the effervescence of the Italian, champion of the first major of the year and definitely through the roof.
“He has had an unbeatable start to the year, but logically it is impossible to maintain that pace for 12 months. In any case, the results that he has been achieving since October could also be good for Carlos, perhaps they have had a positive influence on him in terms of the improvement that we see on a day-to-day basis,” says the coach; “I’m sure the two of them will give each other feedback, it always happens. From the Big Three [Federer, Djokovic y Nadal] to Agassi-Sampras in the nineties, Becker-Edberg-Lendl in the eighties, and so on… And be careful, let’s not forget Rune, who is also 20 years old and I think that in a couple of years he will be a super tough rival. But I trust Carlitos a lot.”
Without yet reaching 21, the Spaniard (78.4%) improves the winning averages of the three giants (77.8% of Nadal, 61.1% of Federer and 70.9% of Djokovic) and does not hide his ambition . “Borg’s records are great, but I want Novak’s,” he said in Australia. In any case, what happened in the final stretch of the last two years will force you to be alert from the beginning to the end of the year. “In Turin he played well, but he arrived tired,” remembers Cascales, while the tennis player sharpens his fangs thinking about what is to come: “Seeing Djokovic [36] Up there and the players who are winning titles also motivate me to try to be at the same level as them. Or, speaking of Big Three, try to get closer. In the end, I am a boy who dreams big and who always sets his sights on the best in the world and in our history.”
FROM CARABELLI TO VAVASSORI
A. C.
Alcaraz started his career in the tournament on a good note. Without the need to go up a gear, but to work on the second round to close the duel, the Spaniard ended up beating Carabelli (134th in the world) and will face the Italian Andrea Vavassori (6-4) this Friday in the quarterfinals and 7-5 to Laslo Djere). The one from El Palmar will repeat his shift, so he will intervene no earlier than 10:30 p.m. Spanish time (Movistar+ Deportes). Another good opportunity to continue picking up the tone.
In parallel, Sinner progressed in Rotterdam thanks to a much-needed victory against the Frenchman Gael Monfils. The Italian lost his first set of the course (6-3, 3-6 and 6-3), but ended up imposing his good moment and will face veteran Milos Raonic on the next scale. Installed on the fourth step of the circuit, Daniil Medvedev’s resignation from competing in Rotterdam and Doha (where he won a year ago) practically guarantees him promotion to the world podium in the coming dates.
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