Javier Martínez

Updated Sunday, March 24, 2024-02:18

There are now 11 consecutive victories for Alcaraz against Spanish players. The world number two has not lost against any of his compatriots since the Indian Wells semifinals in 2022, when

Rafael Nadal

had to compromise his physicality to get rid of him in a very tough three-set match. Only two years have passed, a time that the Murcian has made profitable until he becomes the player he is today, a double Grand Slam champion who is seeking his sixth Masters 1000 in Miami and, in the process, entering as the first Spanish tennis player capable of round off victories in the same season in Indian Wells and in the tournament that concerns us now.

On the day of his thirty-first birthday,

Roberto Carballés

could not stop that triumphant sequence. It was in Miami, shortly after that defeat against Nadal, where Alcaraz won his first major title, the launch of a career that is picking up again after some less brilliant months, conditioned by physical problems and the logical evolution of a 20-year-old tennis player. years. Alcaraz won 6-2 and 6-1, in one hour and 25 minutes, qualifying for the third round.

Unbearable pace

From the three balls he had to equalize one after losing his serve in the opening game, Carballés again had no options to balance a match dominated with authority by his rival, who imposed an unbearable pace for the Canarian, 64th in the world. Alcaraz deployed all his resources and, based on the ease with which he dominated, he experimented with different variants of his game, always with success and joy when approaching the net.

Absent

Novak Djokovi

c, the El Palmar player is the main favorite for a triumph that

Jannik Sinner

, whom he beat in the Indian Wells semifinals, and

Daniil Medvedev

, defending champion, whom he beat in the final, will try to argue with him. Carballés tried to go all out as the duel progressed, without sparing risks, but he gave up his entrance kick again in the second set, sliding irremediably down the slope, although without ever lowering his arms. He had the pleasure, at least, of taking a point with a drop shot, a counter-hit shot and a reply, in the game that followed. He had a slight break in the festival of his opponent, who resumed his refined task and awaits the rival of the match between

Gael Monfils

and

Jordan Thompson

.