The Murcian overcomes a very complicated debut against Struff which he solves in five sets
Carlos Alcaraz did not come to Wimbledon with too many expectations. He threw the first stone: «I’m going to tournament, I want to win tournament», but he was also careful about it: «I’m not the favorite here at all». And when Jan-Lennard Struff had him on the ropes, it was explained why. The Murcian had to overcome Struff (4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(3) and 6-4) on his All England Club debut in this edition of the tournament to take a win mood and solve the tournament’s first scare.
Arriving unprepared for the London Grand Slam, Alcaraz noticed from the start, having trouble adapting to the German service, like a fish in the water on lane 1 with the roof closed due to the rain that marked the start of the day and later, forced to suspend ten games.
With limited experience on the surface and the bandage around his elbow that accompanied him all week of training in London, Alcaraz started a few marches behind an out of form Struff, with twelve losses in his last thirteen games, but to which this surface feels like a glove.
His serve, coupled with Alcaraz’s doubts, allowed him to deepen the game and find the way to take a set lead and shake up the nerves of the Spaniard, who took minutes and minutes to recover. to settle on the grass. Breakballs and opportunities came and Alcaraz evened the game on the basis of insistence.
But it was not a final blow. Struff clung to his power to extend the game and put Alcaraz on the line that he had to come back from a 2-1 defeat. Like against Albert Ramos at Roland Garros, but this time without the match point guillotine against him. Again, in adversity, Alcaraz moved like a fish in water, both with the push and with an audience with whom he connects perfectly and who consider him a favorite to support, given the lack of local talent able to achieve achievements that, at the age of 19 years old, that of El Palmar already has.
As Alcaraz continued to add “aces” to his backpack until he collected 30 – “the best game of my life on service” – the game leaned towards drama, especially when Struff went through in the tiebreak of the fourth set. But the benefit was short-lived. Alcaraz took four points in a row in the tiebreak that led the match to the fifth set, a place where the Murcian is almost infallible. Of the five matches he has seen on this podium, he has won four.
It was no outrage, but Alcaraz waited for the opportunity and the mental weakness of a Struff to take advantage of the second ‘break’ ball he had in the fifth and win the game as the stadium gave him the wave.
Alejandro Davidovich threw one of the towers of the tournament. The man from Malaga eliminated Hubert Hurkacz, seventh seed and one of the favorites in the semi-finals of the groups, 7-6 (4), 6-4, 5-7, 2-6 and 7-6 (8) . Davidovich triumphed in a crazy match that could have ended in three sets, but wasted a 40-0 serve. Hurkacz, the recent champion in Halle, overcame a two-set deficit and served the game in the fifth inning.
A late comeback from the Spaniard forced the super play-off and, after rallied from 4-7 behind there, he claimed victory on the fifth match point.
Source: La Verdad
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