After training, Carlos Alcaraz heads to the van and before entering the vehicle he performs his characteristic rapper-style high five, something like a racket strike: the Murcian extends his right arm, charges and, bam! Poor balls, lady slap. “Here we are, the calm before the storm…” he says calmly, still with the racket bag on his shoulder. Previously, he stopped next to the fence of the first track of the Jean Bouin center to observe Jannik Sinner’s training for a few moments and to launch a joking taunt at the Italian, the young man, like him, who will be interfering this Friday (2:30 p.m. Eurosport and DMAX) on the way to the desired final on Sunday. The gesture of satisfaction that the rival makes when nailing a ace In the essay he says it all.
“I’m very happy that things are going so well for him, we’ve had impressive games between us (eight specifically, four wins apiece) and I know this one will be difficult. He is a reason to get up every day and work hard in order to be a better tennis player,” the Spaniard (21 years old) commented two days before, who in turn highlighted the “regularity” that the Tyrolean (22) has acquired in the recent times and also that “he doesn’t do anything wrong”, in addition to having “an incredible ball strike”. On the other hand, the same line of compliments. “Every time I play against Carlos I learn. He inspires me. “He impresses on the court,” says the new number one, who will be taking office for the first time in a quote that underlines the change in era: for the fourth time in twenty years, neither Nadal, nor Federer nor Djokovic appear on the poster for the semifinals, today fallen king, relegated to the operating room.
The Spaniard (38) heads into the final stretch, the Swiss (42) said goodbye two years ago and the ailments of age are now punishing the Serb’s (37) knee. Everything has a beginning and an end. Sinner and Alcaraz, the two formidable heirs, continue to shape this binomial centennial which after the duels in Bercy, Wimbledon, Umag, New York, Indian Wells, Miami (2) and Beijing, disembarks for the first time on the great stage of the earth. “I don’t consider myself a favorite,” says the one from El Palmar; “He pushes you to the limit all the time and it is very difficult to take the initiative away from him. But I love the challenge and having to find solutions on the fly, like I did (this course) in Indian Wells. “I know that I am facing the great challenge of today, so I will surely be a little more nervous than usual.”
And in the preamble to the appointment, his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, analyzes everything. He shares the Valencian with the special envoys after the morning session. A day before, the tennis player’s team escaped by walking through the gardens of the Palace of Versailles.
A “95%” drive
“I think that in the conditions we had come in (having only played four games due to a muscle injury in his right forearm), Carlos is at a high level. Last year’s events were different, because we came with much more confidence, which made it more natural, and here he has gone from less to more. The confidence that the result that he has achieved, so far, has given him is very important for his head; winning games, seeing that the arm is doing well, gaining that confidence that he needs,” says the coach, who in turn specifies that the drive of his player “is at 95%”, and that “it is difficult” for him to execute it “as naturally as before”, as he is still “a little aware” of the injury to that pronator teres.
A year ago, Alcaraz landed in the Bois de Boulogne launched, after having triumphed in Barcelona and Madrid, and projected as the fittest player of the moment; even above Novak Djokovic, the champion. This time it has been very different. Since the beginning of April, discomfort and fears for the tennis player. “Entering comparisons with last year’s level is very complicated due to the lack of games. I hope it ends the level we already know about,” says Ferrero; “When you play against Novak, being a favorite is complicated, but we were coming off a very good clay season and the level of favoritism was higher. This year, with the injury, people may think he was less so. But, if he really plays at his level, he has an important chance of winning any tournament.”
Complex competitors
The coach remembers that Sinner – affected by hip problems that prevented him from competing in Rome – also did not land in Paris at a sweet moment. “So I think they’re pretty even,” he says. “Let’s hope that the two play a great game so that one pulls the other, and both get positive feelings,” he continues, emphasizing at the same time that approaching the Italian requires “a clear strategy” and that they have “an idea clear of what a little more damage can do to him”, although, he highlights, these are two very “complex” players who, “because they are so good”, the pulse can take unexpected directions.
Sinner does not allow the slightest hint of relaxation. Winner in Australia, the redhead mechanic He has achieved the physical leap that denied him greater success and he performs as a model professional, with that nonconformist spirit that has chiseled the best in history. Prolific on hard — 12 of his 13 trophies come from this surface, with the exception of the one obtained in Umag (2022) — he aspires to become a total tennis player. He does not lack conditions nor does he skimp on hours, not at all.
“Jannik has improved a lot on this surface, in his variety in the game. Before, he was a player who went a little more with shots, but who made few shots to the net, few drop shots, and he has been evolving very well, because he really trains for it; He is a very hard-working boy and he was clear that he wanted to become a very good player, and he is working on it. Even though he has achieved number one, I think he is not going to trust himself or stop, that he is going to try to continue being better every day, because he is very young, just like Carlos, and they are both trying to be better every day.” concludes Ferrero.
Heading into the penultimate round, the Murcian has only dropped one set, against De Jong, and from the start against Wolf to this level his performance against Korda, Auger-Aliassime and Tsitsipas skyrocketed; He invested 12h 14m, compared to his opponent’s 12h 01m. In a very similar vein, Sinner only made one concession to Moutet, and has gone in crescendo on a route that has also forced him to avoid Eubanks, Gasquet, Kotov and Dimitrov. In between, and thanks to the retirement of Novak Djokovic, he took possession of the ATP throne and stands today as the reference of a circuit that definitively adopts new airs. Alcaraz and Sinner, a blessing for the eyes. With him now at the top, it is up to the candidate, faced with a wonderful challenge, to make a move.
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