Alcaraz brings magic and rises again: Rublev goes in two sets and opens the finals

When he plays like this it is an advertisement for tennis that would win over even the most rebellious. Carlos Alcaraz emerges from the mental-physical pain of the last few days and defeats Andrey Rublev in two sets: 6-3 7-6 (8). He does this by setting the Inalpi Arena in bloom with all the shots in his repertoire: baseline shots, excellent passes, short balls, tamed exchanges at the net. And at the end, like yesterday, a sinner asks for applause from a wild audience by putting his finger to his ear. Yes, the world number 3 is back, despite the fuchsia plaster on his nose as a result of his famous breathing problems, and promises to continue to provide plenty of entertainment on tour final ATP. The door to the semi-finals opens again for the Spaniard, after losing his first time against Ruud, waiting for tonight’s match between Zverev and Ruud. And Friday promises to be a great match between him and the German ATP No.2.

the game

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“Against Ruud I had stomach problems, I wasn’t well. And I’m tired, I’m mentally tired at the end of an uninterrupted season”, revealed Alcaraz after his disappointing debut in Turin. In the second game the body language is very different. Rublev starts with the right attitude, keeps his feet on the baseline, attacks and, at the same time, tries to be patient because he knows the difficulties of the Spanish in Turin in long rallies. Then, at 2-2, something happens. Alcaraz makes a big comeback and forces Rublev to play a difficult smash that misses. That game, canceling two break points, the Russian takes it home but in the selective memory it settles like a worm, rather than a spur. In a short time, the ghosts appear again for Andrey, just as Carlos gradually rises to the level and begins to delight the public with short balls, side passes outside the park, acceleration on the line. The fall occurs in the seventh game, at 3-3. Rublev leads 40-15 on serve, then he makes two errors (one of them sensational in open court) and a double fault and gives Alcaraz a break point which the Spaniard converts with great acceleration beginning And at 5-3, another break: Rublev out of action and irresistibly frustrated. It’s 6-3 for Alcaraz. In the second half there is a perfect balance in the score to 6-6 for Alcaraz. Both held their own serve without conceding even a break point, although Rublev still showed signs of anxiety (twice, at the beginning of the set, he had to go to advantages). At the tiebreak the Spaniard escapes​​​​​​4-1, then goes up 5-3 with another wonderful recovery (just “chop”, lob and passer). A double fault brings back Rublev who gets a set point, but Alcaraz cancels it with the serve-forehand scheme. Then the ace for the first match point, frustrated by the Russian on serve. And one more set point for Rublev. In the end it is Alcaraz who closes 10-8 after a hard exchange.