The message, how important. The how, the when, the where. It is broadcast by Carlos Alcaraz in an intervention in which laughter echoes a couple of times in the room when the tennis player, already qualified for the quarterfinals of Roland Garros after beating Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-3 and 6- 1 (at 2h 19m), says that what he likes is “to eat, but to eat well, in a good restaurant”, and that if he had a girlfriend, which is not the case, “he would have to evaluate many things” if she is asked him to play mixed doubles while also competing in the individual modality. Once again, the Murcian speaks with one more point of happiness, after another artistic performance, and his ambition recovers the levels of the good moments, when he swells and sticks out his chest. Now yes, he sees himself there.
“From the first round, I already saw myself competing against the best. I saw that I could achieve a great result here, but obviously, as the days and rounds go by, the level increases and so does the confidence, and that is very important to me. The arm thing (muscle injury that has been going on since the beginning of April) is practically forgotten, and I am finding myself more and more comfortable with my right hand, which is crucial. I am more comfortable on the court, with a fairly good level. And right now, I think I can be on par with the best and do a good job here,” says the man from El Palmar, who added another convincing victory against Sebastian Korda to the very good sensations obtained in the previous round, on Friday against Sebastian Korda. Auger-Aliassime, this one without any option.
The Spaniard said two days before that, finally, he had managed to recognize himself, and the step taken now against the Canadian recovers the most authentic version in the game and the dialectic, spontaneity in the responses. I think it, I say it. From that angle, this Alcaraz is fearless. He, already a regular in the rooms of the big stages – without error in the last six participations – always wants to go further. “We have to value that, because it is very good, but if we think it is a good result, we remain at a mediocre level,” he says; “We (his team) always want more, and if we reach the quarterfinals we are already thinking about the semifinals, and if we get there, how to get to the final. We always want more.”
Since he won his first two years ago major, the US Open, has always been at least in the top eight. However, the Murcian is a nonconformist who aims exclusively for the summit, as did the man who shoots a basket suspended in his shirt, Michael Jordan. “Anything other than winning the tournament leaves a bittersweet taste,” he adds, knowing that tomorrow he will face the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, whom he has defeated the five times they have met, three of them on dirt, the last three ; last year, precisely, in the Roland Garros quarterfinals.
TERESA SUAREZ (EFE)
“He hasn’t beaten me yet. I have won every game we have played, and that is what I mean when I say that I have the key to beating him, 5-0. That doesn’t mean that I’m going to play at 50%, because I know he’s playing well. But tactically I know what I have to do, I’m not going to say it here at a press conference, but I know what I have to do,” he continues. Meanwhile, his next rival appears with the Monte Carlo title and the Barcelona final under his arm, in addition to the endorsement granted by the final of the tournament reached in 2021. Against Matteo Arnaldi, a stumbling block prior to the clash with Alcaraz, the Greek has left a set (3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 and 6-2), which is added to the one awarded in the second round against the German Daniel Altmaier.
“I’m getting better every day, and I feel like I can go far here,” repeats the young Spaniard, who the night before celebrated the Champions League won by Real Madrid at Wembley, imbued with the spirit of the whites. “Whether you are from Madrid or not, it is something historic,” he clarifies. “And I lived it, obviously, joking with my brother (Álvaro, the eldest) and with my family in general, because they are all from Barça,” he closes with a laugh, having recovered his punch and competitive spark, raising the ambition of the message another time. After a couple of months of doubts and resignations, physically and mentally tied, Alcaraz dreams again.
SINNER SHOWS THE LAST FRENCHMAN
AC | Paris
At the end of the day, Jannik Sinner beat Frenchman Corentin Moutet 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 and 6-1 (in 2h 41m) and landed in the quarterfinals, a level he already reached in 2020. when it debuted. He then ran into Rafael Nadal, and now he will do so with the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who had never made it this far in Paris. He beat Hubert Hurkacz (7-6 (5), 6-4 and 7-6 (3).
Sinner, 22 years old, became the Italian tennis player who has been among the top eight the most times (7) in the majors, since the inauguration of the Open Era (1968); With this last access he surpasses Flavio Panatta and Matteo Berretini, both with six. He also achieved it by eliminating the last French representative in both tables.
This Monday, Novak Djokovic will clash (not before 4:00 p.m., Eurosport) with the Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo.
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