The 18-year-old Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz is one of the most promising tennis players in the world and people have been speculating for a long time that he will be the heir to his countrymen Rafael Nadal’s mantle. But today, he shocked everyone by defeating the World No.3 Stefano Tsitsipas who was at least, expected to go into the latter rounds and challenge for the US Open title. The young Spaniard had other ideas and found the 23-year-old Greek as an ideal base to make a name for himself in the tennis world.
It was a very dramatic five-set victory for the Spanish youngster as he had the support of the crowd, as well. The crowd was tired of Tsitsipas taking long breaks between sets and hence decided to put their full support behind the youngster at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Alcaraz took over four hours to dismantle Tsitsipas with the final score being 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 0-6, 7-6 (5) in his favour. He is the youngest man to be in the fourth round of this particular Grand Slam since a guy named Pete Sampras did it in 1989.
Alcaraz’s performance on the court was excellent. Many remarked on the power of his shots which is reflected in the stats where it says he got 45 winners from his forehand and backhand shots, compared to his opponent’s 14 winners. He had a great serve which includes one clocking at 134 km/h. His returns were unplayable and converted many drop shots to gain points in his favour. He also used those drop shots as a set-up for a lob or a winner from just the right angle. There was even a moment where he earned a point by hitting a tweener through his legs with the back to his net.
Most important of all was his mental strength, especially after the fourth set where he was blanked out by the Greek tennis player and then he won the fifth set against a more experienced player in front of several fans at a Grand Slam.
Alcaraz thanked the crowd for cheering him on. He also said this victory meant a lot to him and it was the best victory of his career and that dreams do come true. Tsitsipas said that Alcaraz will be a contender for Grand Slams in due time and has never seen someone hit the ball this hard and applauded his opponent’s mental strength. He continued by saying that he was a bit bitter to lose this match as he thought he was in control but still lost and it was supposed to be a match he won.
Tsitsipas took no long breaks this time, as he took a four-minute one after the third set and Alcaraz took a break so that his trainer could treat his legs and lower back.
