Javier Sanchez
Updated Friday, March 29, 2024-02:05
"I can't do that shit!"
Carlos Alcaraz
shouted just as the second set began; By then everything was already lost. A disoriented Alcaraz. A disconnected Alcaraz. A desperate Alcaraz. In short, a different Alcaraz. Against
Grigor Dimitrov
, in the quarterfinals of the Miami Masters 1000, the Spaniard completed one of the worst matches in memory and fell 6-2, 6-4.
There was nothing redeemable in his game, neither the serve, nor his forehand, much less his rest. Overwhelmed by the high speed of the court and the weight of the balls - different from those of the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells - he soon became immersed in a sea of doubts and was unable to emerge.
Dimitrov also had a lot of merit. From less to more, saving up to four break points in the first games, the Bulgarian found himself with his best tennis and, what was most surprising, he maintained it for more than an hour and a half. As he did in the last Shanghai Masters 1000, his strategy was clear: undress Alcaraz.
Instead of waiting for him, he presented him with a very aggressive rest and little by little undermined his morale. "Don't let him dominate the point," Juan Carlos Ferrero demanded of his pupil in the first set, but Dimitrov did it, he did it, he did it.
Alcaraz's reaction
Faced with that challenge, Alcaraz fainted. The number two in the world, in a dream March, after his title in Indian Wells and his brilliant start in Miami, he doubted and the doubts devoured him. At first he went with his own serve: How to serve so that Dimitrov wouldn't return a winner with the rest of his? He didn't find the answer. And the concern extended to all situations.
In his continuous communication with his box, Alcaraz admitted that he no longer knew whether to get inside the court or delay until he touched the wall, whether to look for a direct hit or long exchanges. He didn't see the way. Only for about 10 minutes, at the conclusion of the disaster, did the Spaniard find himself and even release some celebration. With 6-2 and 4-1 against, he reconciled himself with his racket, recognized the balls and suddenly improved: he evened the second set. But it was a mirage. Dimitrov, at a superlative level, took the match and a place in the semi-finals.