Alcaraz wins his third consecutive match of five sets and stands in the final

Stainless steel, the shock wave of Carlos Alcaraz also swept away Frances Tiafoe, the new American hero.

The Spaniard won his third consecutive five-set match and will be the one seeking this Sunday (10 pm, Eurosport) against Casper Ruud for his first Grand Slam title at the US Open.

The champion will be crowned as the new number 1 in the world.

Alcaraz is the

after Pete Sampras, who won it in 1990 at the age of 19 years and one month.

First it was Marin Cilic, four hours, in the round of 16.

Then Jannik Sinner, five and a quarter hours, in the quarters, saving a

And this Saturday four hours and 18 minutes against Frances Tiafoe, in the semifinals: 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-1, 6-7 (5) and 6-3.

Irreducible, Alcaraz once again overcame everything, including weighing a match point in her favor in the tenth game of the fourth set, which could have lightened her workload.

Subjected to unbearable pressure for the vast majority of the players on the circuit, this teenager who is only playing for the second time in the US Open once again demonstrated a bomb-proof value, an amazing conviction in his own strength.

It is not only about resisting such an accumulation of hours on the track, but also about always staying there, with the best presence of mind, without losing face in the games, no matter how many inconveniences they may be.

And there were again before a Tiafoe who was reborn when few people gave a penny for him.

Alcaraz

, in particular the fourth set, which once again led him into dangerous territory.

This time he did not come with the winning incertia, as in the case of Sinner, but he was facing an extension that was not counted as the duel was taking place.

Undeterred

, he was always seen as sure of carrying out his plan.

It seemed a matter of time before the speed of the American and his freshness to open the court from the success with the service subsided, although both came from very different circumstances: Tiafoe, who had only given up a set, had won Nadal in four to beat continuation in three to Andrey Rublev.

Two debutants in a Grand Slam semifinal endorsed by their formidable career throughout the tournament.

The Spaniard, third seeded, started as the favourite.

Not in vain, in addition to what has been shown in these two weeks, he is the great sensation of a year in which he has won four titles, two Masters 1000 and two ATP 500, in addition to consecutively defeating Nadal, Djokovic and Zverev in Madrid.

to the fifth

Unfortunate outcome of the first set for Alcaraz, who lost it in the tiebreak after having suffocated with his usual courage the first four attempts of his opponent, one of them in the eleventh game.

A good server,

, one of them 7-0.

The opposite situation was that of his rival, who had yielded in the two played against Sinner.

It was an open match, where both protagonists sought to take the initiative as soon as possible.

Alcaraz responded as expected of him after the setback in the first set.

He applied himself from the restart, as if nothing had happened, and managed to break in the sixth game, enough balance to equalize the score, not without facing a threat from his rival.

The Murcian has a qualitative plus that revalues ​​some of his points, not only from an aesthetic perspective but also because of how it undermines the opponent's spirit.

.

Without a hint of wear due to the luggage he was carrying, consistent with the tennis that had brought him here, Alcaraz disarmed his opponent, who gave the impression of having found his ceiling with the opposite resistance until giving up the second set.

Rushed, confused, Tiafoe simply couldn't resist the volume of play required of him.

The third set was a breeze.

The self-esteem he had earned in his excellent tournament shaken, the 2018 champion in Delray Beach was revived by the shouts from the stands, "Let's go, Frances, let's go!"

moved by pride, when he seemed to have thrown in the towel.

He saved the first match point in the tenth game, with a magic counter, and planted himself in a third tie break that he once again made his own.

Eight out of eight.

A record in the history of the tournament.

Oblivious to the course of events, Alcaraz played the fifth set as if it were the start of the match.

His serene face, pure conviction, conveyed the message that he would do it again.

And so it was again.

With more importance than ever.

There are now eight wins in nine five-set matches.

An anthological balloon was the prelude to victory.

Tiafoe sent the ball into the net at

It was Alcaraz's 50th win this season.

The most important of his life.

Just for now.

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