Carlos Alcaraz has started successfully, but with too much time on the court (2 hours and 23 minutes), a marathon that could lead him to play nine matches in the next 11 days. With the physical burden that this entails at the start of the European clay court tour. Carlitos qualified, with much suffering, on Thursday for the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 and will no longer have a rest if he plays in Sunday’s final.
And next Tuesday, April 14, he will make his debut in the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. This means that his only two days without an official match, if he reaches the title fight at the Godo – something he has done in his last three appearances – will be Monday 13 and Wednesday 15.
Alcaraz is on his best run on clay, with15 wins in a row, surpassing the 14 he achieved in 2022. His latest victim was Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3. He had already defeated Sebastian Baez, Etcheverry’s compatriot. The pupil of Samuel Lopez has a record of 17-1 against the Argentine Armada.
Twenty times in the quarter-finals
With his inclusion in the penultimate round in Monte Carlo, Alcaraz became the third player to reach 20 quarter-final appearances in TMS tournaments before the age of 23. The other two are Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. The Spaniard made 31 appearances among the top eight before reaching that age, compared to 24 for the Serbian
Alcaraz, aware that he could lose the world number one ranking in Monte Carlo, warns that he is going to give Jannik Sinner a hard time: “I’m going to push him to the limit if he wants the number one”
The Spaniard set out to win and convince against Etcheverry. If there is a king on clay, it is him, with a record of 36 wins and two defeats on the surface since his first coronation at Roland Garros 2024
He scored the first eight points of the match to take a 2-0 lead on the scoreboard. The Argentine saved his ‘earthly’ condition for later
Albert II of Monaco was attending the Country Club box for the first time, attracted by the magic of the Palma phenomenon. Nobody feels the ball like him. Tomas checked it at the start, as he did not even sense the moment when the drop shots were going to reach him. Of the 37 points in the opening set, 26 went to the seven-time Grand Slam champion
Trend reversal
The scene, however, changed completely in the second set. Etcheverry went 4-1 up after a parallel backhand winner. “Accepting and we continue, get stubborn, come on. Be attentive, we try, small court,” said Samu, the number one’s coach. “In tennis you fail. Wanting every point. Let me see you, let me see you, let’s go there, character, strong hand. Listen to me, hit it,” he continued.
Alcaraz’s forehand recovered one of the two breaks down. With the backhand he accumulated 16 unforced errors. “You have to hurt the ball, not the court. And the court is small. Convince yourself, there’s no hurry. Come on Charlie,” said Lopez before his pupil wasted a chance to make it 4-4
Etcheverry found himself with a 5-3 lead. The question was whether his arm would shrink at the moment of truth. The player with the most clay-court matches under his belt this season (11 wins) did not let his chance slip away
Etcheverry recharged his batteries in the locker room with a toilet break that was close to the five minutes allowed. The player from La Plata went from strength to strength, losing a key game
It was the second game of the third set and ended with a break by his opponent. “Slowly but surely,” remarked the coach of the best tennis player on the planet. Carlitoswent from being one point away from 4-0 to having to save a 4-3 and serve option for his opponent. The match went on so long that it ended with the uncomfortable sun and shade
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