Carlos Alcaraz said the previous day that he had heard about Yibing Wu’s good manners, that the ranking current position of his opponent (560º) was misleading and that his victory against the Chilean Nicolás Jarry should serve as a warning. And he was right. For one day, the Murcian took the other perspective: during several phases of the duel, the Chinese took the initiative. “It is one of the few times that I have felt that I have not dominated all the time and I have been more focused on what he was going to do instead of what I had to do,” he was honest after overcoming the tough test of this Sunday (7-6(5) and 6-3, in 1h 40m) and thus reach the round of 16 in Shanghai, in which he will face a Frenchman on Tuesday, either Gael Monfils —bad memories because of what happened this summer in Cincinnati—or Ugo Humbert.
After easily solving Saturday’s debut, against Juncheng Shang, a complex round against Wu, once a green shoot for Chinese tennis and who is now trying to find his way back. An operation on his left foot kept him off the slopes and today he is trying to rejoin the elite circuit through the challengers. Invited this time by the organization, he surpassed Sumit Nagal and then Jarry, and in the third instance demanded that Alcaraz truly exercise attitude and patience, not to lose his nerve or take false steps that he might later regret, because the The history of tennis, as you know, is full of stumbles and foolish days. With nothing to lose, the Asian played it head-to-head, biting with every shot. And he succumbed, but it made the Spaniard sweat for a long time, which he resolved by overcoming the 0-2 deficit in the tiebreaker and breaking the second set.
“Yay!”, he stamped on the camera, in a nod to his admired Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s not the first time. Like the Portuguese in his day, those rides are now far away, the tennis player from El Palmar also has rockets in his legs, but on this occasion his victory, the 100th on hard court at only 21 years old, was built on mentality. Calm, calm and more calm. To wait for the moment and be accurate. “With the level he has, he deserves to be at the top. If he continues like this, we will see him here often,” continued the winner, who prevailed thanks to his hierarchy. Firm throughout, he closed the door firmly, commendable considering Wu’s aggressiveness, with no option to break, and ended up knocking out 23 winners. The Chinese signed only two less.
“He hasn’t let me play with the aggressiveness I’m used to. But it didn’t surprise me, I knew it was complicated,” explained the number two, who this season has already achieved 50 victories and has 11 – his limit is 15 – since leaving New York. “He hits hard and I didn’t feel like I was dominating. Basically, I have to play harder; He hit him harder than me. I have to upload more to the network [lo hizo siete veces, por las 11 de Wu] and make more winners, but today I couldn’t do it. In the second set I calmed down and thought more clearly. I hope to improve the next day,” added the Spaniard, who will have a day of rest.
The average speed recorded with the service accompanies your presentation. The Asian equaled the maximum peak (216 km/h) and moved in very similar terms with first (198-199 for him) and seconds (165-161). It was raining heavily outside and clubs fell on the main court. In those, Alcaraz came out on top with mastery. “I’m glad to know that I won’t be playing against another Chinese in the round of 16, so I trust that there will be more people supporting me,” he closed with a laugh, focused on the challenge that always comes with his time in Shanghai, where last year he lost the third stop against the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in his first and only participation, and where even Rafael Nadal himself has historically been denied glory.
MEDVEDEV AND LAS PELOTAS: “THEY FAVOR ALCARAZ AND SINNER”
A.C.
Aside from Alcaraz’s progress, the day also saw the advance of Jannik Sinner, also demanded by Tomás Martín Etcheverry (6-7(3), 6-4 and 6-2). The number one came back and Daniil Medvedev also had to do so against Matteo Arnaldi (5-7, 6-4 and 6-4). During the arm-wrestling, the Russian angrily protested against the balls and then threw a dart.
“I think it basically favors people who can benefit from the power of dead balls. Some have better quality with this. Others don’t. In reality, the two best players to do this are already the best players in the world… and I’m sure they would be without the balls, but with these balls they are the only players who can generate incredible power. They are Jannik and Carlos. It gives them an additional advantage,” lamented the world number five.
On the other hand, in Beijing the American Coco Gauff was proclaimed champion, who the day before had defeated Paula Badosa. On this occasion, the North American beat the Czech Karolina Muchova 6-1 and 6-3.
