Carlos Alcaraz succumbs to Sinner's relentless tennis

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Dominate or be dominated.

That is the dilemma on grass for

, who fell in the round of 16 at Wimbledon against the impetus of Italian

in four sets (6-1, 6-4, 6-7 (8-10), 6-3).

The Spaniard was unable to display his tennis for much of the match in the face of the relentless pace set by the tall red-haired 20-year-old from the back of the court, number 13 in the ranking and with a promising career (five ATP tournaments to date ).

[Narration and statistics]

Alcaraz had beaten him once in two expeditious sets at Paris-Bercy, but Sinner's effective and non-shrill game - who hits the forehand with the same force as the two-

backhand - turned out to be too bitter a drink on center court. of the All England Club.

The Murcian went further in the middle of the match and his game finally exploded in a third set that gave rise to fleeting hopes.

But revenge was never consummated.

The cries of "Come on Carlitos!"

They soon made room in the stands for "Forza, Jannik!".

The Alto Adige tennis player's game is not one of those that make the public get up from their seats, but his sense of anticipation prevailed from the outset and relegated the Spaniard to the category of

for much of the game,

occasion

With amazing ease, supported by the phlegm with which he faces the game and that lateral mobility with his long legs that skiing in the Alps gives him, Sinner did not allow the Spaniard to find his place on the slopes in a devastating first set ( 6-1).

Alcaraz's frustration grew even more in the early stages of a second set that he started with a double fault and giving up the serve again at the first change.

Jannik Sinner celebrates his victory against Alcaraz.AP

Alcaraz gritted his teeth and tried to raise the bar in a highly disputed second game, in which the Murcian finally dared with the dropshots and in which he had the second

ball .

But the dynamic was soon back to where it used to be, with the Italian knocking the world number 7 off the court with his ultra-fast shots and claiming the set 6-4.

The sun came out temporarily and Alcaraz suddenly charged the battery, in a much more balanced third set.

Sinner showed the first signs of weakness of the entire match, with the spectacular fall to reach a cut that for the first time suggested that the tables could be turned.

Alcaraz was more accurate on serve and more incisive at the back of the court, as he demonstrated with a crosscourt backhand with the score 4-3 in his favor that almost made his rival bite the grass again.

Improvement

The Spaniard leveled up as the game progressed, finally able to move his rival from right to left, hit a succession of

and finally stand up to the rest.

The two firmly defended the service until reaching the

, in which Alcaraz stepped on the accelerator and managed to unbalance the balance until reaching 6-3 and having two set points that he did not know how to take advantage of.

Sinner turned the score around and at 6-7, and the serve in his favor, he had two match points.

The Murcian saved the guy and took the lead again with a quick bounce in a climb to the middle of the track that caused delirium in the Spanish pavilion.

Against all odds, sudden death was finally awarded 10-8.

In the fourth set, Alcaraz gave up the initiative again, letting the Italian break his serve and go 3-1 up and was once again the disoriented player in the first set.

Down 5-2, he saved three more match balls.

But the die was cast, and with Skinner serving, the Spaniard ran out of options after three and a half long hours of play.

Alcaraz, who played the entire tournament with the protector on his elbow, in any case completed his second Wimbledon above his own expectations, standing in the round of 16 in his own right after two convincing and consecutive victories over

and

, and a hard-fought opening victory over

in five sets.

Sinner seems called to follow in the footsteps of his compatriot

who last year played the Wimbledon final against

and this year has been dropped from the tournament after testing positive for Covid.

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