Alcaraz's regret and pride for losing to Zverev

Carlos Alcaraz was filled with pride to attempt the miracle, but it was difficult, very difficult, almost impossible.. What would have happened if it had started the way it ended? It will no longer be possible to know. The Spaniard fell this Wednesday against Alexander Zverev in the Australian Open quarterfinals in three hours of play. It was one of the worst starts to the game of his career.. It was a comeback of character that showed what he was capable of.. At 20 years old, another step in his learning. With his game, a missed opportunity in Melbourne, where he has not yet come close to glory. [Narrative and statistics (6-1, 6-3, 6-7 [2], 6-4)]

It was a very strange duel because, beyond tennis, Alcaraz fluctuated in what never fails: his spirit.. At the beginning of the third set, he became desperate as never before, stuck in the center of the Rod Laver Arena, lost, overwhelmed, unmotivated.. And then, suddenly, when everything was lost, he found himself on the court, began to smile and even enjoyed one of the best tie-breaks that can be remembered.. His team looked at him and was amazed: first, by discouragement and then, by pride.

The horrible beginning

In a remarkable, almost excellent tournament, with complete performances, Alcaraz was not Alcaraz, which is strange. Against one of the best servers on the circuit, Zverev, he did not find his position against the rest and that made him desperate. In the first two sets, his opponent won almost all the points – 35 out of 39 – and, focused on avoiding it, the Spaniard forgot his own tennis. Nothing was working for him. Neither his service -55% first in the first set-, nor his forehand -11 unforced errors-, absolutely nothing. Those who know him say that in the first games you can tell if he will win the game or not and this Wednesday it was soon known that it would go wrong.. His first two serves were unsuccessful: double fault. This is how the first two hours of the meeting were summarized.

For many minutes it seemed that the number two in the ranking would complete his worst match in a Grand Slam, perhaps even in his career.. Now it was placed here, now, there and then, a little further; He looked at the track, he moved along it and it seemed gigantic, immense, an endless plain where there was not a single place for him.. Rarely was he so lost.

The final reaction

And suddenly he woke up. In the third set, when anyone would have given up, with 5-2 down, he exposed all his character to get a break, the first of the match, and take Zverev to the tie-break.. The German always finds it difficult to close his victories and this time it was no different, he trembled, Zverev trembled, but Alcaraz also changed a lot. For the rest, he discovered a little space on the court where he could respond to his rival's projectiles and recovered his game.. As if nothing had happened before, he improved his serve – from 55% at first to 73% -, his forehand became scary again and from shot to shot he started to like it.

In the fourth set, if a body language expert had had to bet on a winner, he would have placed all his money in Alcaraz's box.. Smiling, he cheered on his own people while a devastated Zverev even called a medical timeout. The German had just played two rounds of five sets, accumulated five more hours on the court than the Spaniard during the tournament, and the passing of the minutes was detrimental to him.

The conclusions

But he had too much advantage and too much habit of playing on the wire. With 4-4 on the scoreboard, when another tie-break and even a fifth set of scandal was in sight, Zverev sentenced with a definitive break and took his place in the semifinals where he will meet Daniil Medvedev. In the other part of the draw there will be Novak Djokovic against Jannik Sinner.

For Alcaraz, the negative part is that: he will not be at the party that his great rivals of recent times will star in and he will not do so due to his own demerits, due to a horrible start against Zverev. But there is also a positive part: he reached the quarterfinals, with what it implies in the ATP ranking, and against the German he confirmed that he has plenty of character. What would have happened if it had started the way it ended? It will no longer be possible to know.