The fuse came to an end and there was no bombing. Carlos Alcaraz’s rope finished tightening and instead of finding a final victory, the one he dreamed of when he arrived at Wimbledon, he ran into a Jannik Sinner who gave him a reality class in his first serious assault on All England Club (6-1, 6-4, 6-7 (8) and 6-3).
The Italian beat Alcaraz in the duel that he must score in the tennis of the future. When the first clash between these two tennis players in a Grand Slam is remembered, there will be talk of an exhibition of power by Sinner, who has lived in recent months in the shadow of an Alcaraz who passed him on the right as a prominent member of the army young and who stayed with all the lights; until this Sunday.
The sustained growth of Sinner, regular and calm, was shattered by the meteoric irruption of Alcaraz, and this Sunday the transalpine took revenge. With a calm step, without great fuss and with the certainty that he had tennis ready to displace his rival, strangely nervous on a big stage.
It was Alcaraz’s first time at the Wimbledon center and, far from being a glorious appearance, it was a demonstration of the pressure that the Murcian has lived with since becoming one of the best in the world. He arrived in London under the favourites, but his tennis, especially in the third round, put him back in the front row. Until Sinner kicked him off the court for more than three hours and with the only parenthesis of a magical ‘tie break’ and the five match points that he saved before falling.
The Italian started well, but Alcaraz was disastrous in the first few games. He gave up seven unforced errors in the first set, only one short of all he committed in the previous match against Otte. Whether it was nerves or dislocation for Alcaraz, Sinner, as if he were a veteran with a thousand battles behind him, he ate up the track and won every match.
The lack of aim -36 unforced errors- even moved to the hawk eye, with several requests missed by far. It was not Alcaraz’s day, he lost the first set in just half an hour and with the feeling of being very out. He improved in the second, Sinner was not such a cyclone, but all the opportunities came from the Italian’s side who, although he enjoyed a tighter score, he had the advantage in the long game.
Alcaraz had the advantage, 6-3 in favor and three set points. They all escaped him, especially the third, with an impressive running right hand from Sinner. It was then the Italian who enjoyed the opportunity; two match points. Buried the first with a long ball and the second with a suicidal return to the net. To sink him further, Alcaraz made one of the points of the championship, a boat soon in the middle of the track that fell dead on the other side of the net. That magic touch left the set on a platter, which he closed at the next point.
The Murcian exploded, who, lit up by the public, lived his best minutes on the court, but it did not help him to bring down Sinner’s serve, fantastic with his service, with which he saved the seven break chances he had. Alcaraz, with a double fault, gave away his serve and the match went away. There was no epic or legendary victory at the Cathedral. His best evenings here will have to wait.
Alcaraz achieved his best participation in Wimbledon, but he does not sneak into the top eight of the tournament. Yes, Sinner does, who is waiting for Novak Djokovic or Tim Van Rijthoven in the quarterfinals and who matches his rivalry with Alcaraz. There will be more chapters.
