Carlos Alcaraz19 years old and number one in the world, came to the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, in Abu Dhabi, although far from the way that would allow him to compete on a more grounded Andrei Rublev25 years and no. 8.
The Murcian lasted 59 minutes on the center court of the International Tennis Center Zayed Sports City. Logically. His efforts since November 4th have been focused on recovering sufficiently from the stomach injury he suffered in the semifinal of the ATP Masters 1000 in Paris-Bercy against the Danish Holger Rune.
He was absent from the ATP Finals in Turin and the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga. In time, he made his debut in Abu Dhabi, which he sealed with a resounding defeat: 6-2 and 6-1 for Andrey Rublev in 59 minutes.
Nothing is off the script at this point for Alcaraz, who will face an intense preseason task. His goal is the Australian Open, in mid-January. Already in Melbourne, in recent days he will play another exhibition, the Kooyong Classic, to fit in.
New, this Sunday, against third place, at 10 am (1:00 pm in Abu Dhabi), against Norwegian Casper Ruud, also resoundingly surpassed by the Greek in the semifinals Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2 and 6-2.
The different conditions of one and the other are noted in the planning of their work. Alcaraz’s plans exploded when he learned the medical report: muscle tear in the internal oblique musculature of the left abdominal lateral wall with an estimated recovery time of six weeks.
He has left disaster behind, he is in no rush or rush to design the best road to the Australian Open. Abu Dhabi, a first note on its roadmap.
Rublev started strongly and struck in the first exchange, then in the second game he managed to break Alcaraz’s serve, who although he answered quickly, did not take advantage of two break points. At 0-3 match, the first set was too long for the Spanish tennis player, who lost a resounding 2-6.
With a clear lack of rhythm, Alcaraz was unable to recover in the second round, where Rublev did not let his rival down and point-by-point quickly reached the final victory. Later, Alcaraz, in the media statements of the tournament, offered his first feelings after playing a match again after a month and a half absence on the slopes.
“It’s very difficult. They are my first games and my first games since Paris. I haven’t been able to train like I want. I’m very happy to come here to play with the top players to prepare for the new season. I’m very happy to have played again, of having tried to give my best”, he pointed out.
Source: La Verdad
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