Veteran Albert Ramos had him on the ropes, but the Murcian grew after overcoming a match point to take an epic five-set win
In an exercise in stamina and mental strength, Carlos Alcaraz overcame a hard lesson this Wednesday against an extraordinary Albert Ramos in what it takes to survive in a giant like Roland Garros. The Murcian is already in the third round after beating the Catalan in five sets 6-1, 6-7 (7), 5-7, 7-6 (2) and 6-4, after no less than four hours and 34 minutes battle.
Nothing predicted that the sixth in the world would suffer so much at Simonne Mathieu, the third most important circuit after Philippe-Chatrier and Suzanne Lenglen. He had crossed paths with Ramos, number 44 on the track, twice before, and in both cases the victory had fallen on the young man’s side: Rio de Janeiro (2020) and Umag (2021). In fact, the one from Mataró was Alcaraz’s first victim on the professional circuit.
In addition, Juan Carlos Ferrero’s pupil has certainly exploded this year, to the point of beating Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic at the Mutua Madrid Open. The Murcian arrived as one of the favorites in Paris, comfortably beating Juan Ignacio Londero in his first game 6-4, 6-2, 6-0.
But Ramos, who suffered serious physical damage, is an experienced guerrilla fighter on clay, an expert type in the long matches at Roland Garros, where he made his twelfth appearance. The 2016 quarter-finals and 2017 round of 16 were his best results, but faced with the young boom of the Spanish sport, he had nothing to lose and a lot to prove.
The Murcian started out with sufficient solvency and confidence and sent with its duty missiles that were difficult for the Catalan to respond to. In addition, the exchanges were favorable to Alcaraz, very attentive to the rest and up to make drops. When he had the upper hand in the first moto with great authority, it was hard to predict what would happen next.
The picture changed when Ramos overcame a menacing 30-40 in the first game of the second set, eventually winning his second game of the match. Mataró’s tennis player’s serve was deeper, his game more consistent and his head clearer than Alcaraz’s, who began to rush and fail much more than necessary. The second episode reached the ‘tiebreak’ and there Ramos did not forgive with his serve on the third set point.
Ramos became strong, Alcaraz vulnerable as he has not been known in recent months and the third set again fell in favor of the Catalan tennis player, always better at decisive moments. Especially less whimsical. He won 5-7 and continued to play what he wanted, and what he was more interested in, until the last part of the fourth round. There he had won the match, but the law that had guided him so much had already fallen short. With service and 5-4, he fired a matchball that went into the net. An unforced mistake doomed him.
Alcaraz, like the greats, made an extraordinary leap in quality at the key moment, when he saw himself more outside than inside Paris. He finished two sets after a sudden death in which the Murcian was far superior, and the date continued until the fifth set. Again, contrasts. When it looked like the El Palmar player would impose his youth and quality, Ramos made an extraordinary exercise of maturity. He returned to make a ‘break’ and took a favorable 3-0.
Alcaraz again offered a championship response at a very difficult moment. He recovered the lost serve with an extraordinary point, certainly the best of this Roland Garros at the moment, showing the qualities of a resistance athlete and a sprinter at the same time. He closed his fist, looked at Juan Carlos Ferrero and shot for the win. There is a fact that explains the reason for so much suffering. While Ramos racked up six of his breakpoints, Alcaraz only got eight of the 31 chances he had.
Source: La Verdad
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