Carlos Alcaraz triumphantly reappeared on the slopes after his Wimbledon victory and survived the euphoria and celebrations to suffer and beat the Belgian David Goffin (4-6, 6-4 and 10-8 in the ‘super tie break’) in second match in Spain of the Hopman Cup.
Alcaraz, Looked tired from the start, went from less to more to level a tie that started with a loss for Spain’s Rebeka Masarova. He narrowly won, almost at the buzzer, and Goffin was one step away from knocking off a player of incredible stamina.
And it is, without having completed a week of his undeniable victory on the grass at Wimbledon, Alcaraz once again finds clay to face a tennis player who is not currently in the world ‘top 100’ but who is just before the start the Hopman. Cup declared that it could absolutely be among the 50 best.
Alcaraz, in the first change, faced a complicated battle. the defeat of Rebecca Masarova against elise mertens Moments before the start of their match, they forced the Murcian tennis player to beat Goffin to prevent Spain from losing points and jeopardizing their future in the competition against their other group rivals, Croatia.
The world number one wore overalls and the court of the Nice Lawn Tennis Club in Nice, where Goffin started the courage with a break in the third game. The Belgian took a sweet 0-40 and Alcaraz saved two break points to drop to third with a home-brand return from Goffin.
Behind 2-1 on the scoreboard, Alcaraz he reacted quickly and added two consecutive games to take the lead in the match (3-2). However, this is a mirage. The Murcian is not well. He played without pause, short points, impatient. Speed is not to his advantage. He needs more composure to deal with the points. Too impatient.
goffin He took advantage of his opponent’s weakness and took it 5-4 and 40-0 with three match points. Alcaraz, against the ropes, let out an audible “no Carlos” when he missed a drop shot that gave the Belgian tennis player three set points. He saved two, but with a good climb to the net, Goffin took the first set (6-4).
Alcaraz I don’t have much margin anymore. So is Spain. A loss in the second set would give victory to Belgium, who after losing to Croatia on Thursday needed to win no matter what. And, again, Goffin surprised with the first substitution: he broke the Spaniard’s serve in the first game. And, on top of that, in the worst possible way, with a very inappropriate double fault from the world number one.
while, goffin, now in position 111 in the ATP ranking, had fun on the court. He presented his best version, the one in which he became a planetary ‘top ten’ (number 7 in 2017). He needed it to overcome Alcaraz, who also surrendered in the second game and had to work his way back into the game.
His leg speed and physical strength began to give Goffin unforced errors. And finally, in the sixth game, Alcaraz got a break to tie the game at 3-3. However, in a burst of pride, Goffin still managed to add one last break which Alcaraz promptly returned. At 4-4, the exchange of blows continued until the number one came back to effectively take down to endorse his rival to a blank game where he won the second set (6-4).
again, Spain The next day he bet on the ‘super tie break’. And again, in the decisive moment, like Masarova, Alcaraz started poorly, with 4-0 down which she equalized without ruffling. Then, a final exchange of blows began until the Murcian had a match point to spare which he took advantage of to win 10-8 and give Spain the tie, who will play for victory against Belgium in the doubles match starting at 21 hours.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
