Carlos Alcaraz, very imprecise under the roof of the Palais Omnisports, fell to Roman Safiullin in the second round of the Paris Masters 1000, which complicates his fight for world number one against Novak Djokovic. This is the first defeat of the course for Alcaraz in his first match in a tournament and with it he jeopardizes a good part of his chances of finishing the year at the top of the ranking.. [Narrative and statistics (6-3, 6-4)]
Alcaraz's last defeat in a Masters 1000 debut dated back to August 2022, when he lost to Tommy Paul in Montreal (6-3, 4-6, 6-3).
The match was full of inaccuracies on both sides, although the Russian almost always dictated the rhythm, aggressive with the serve, confident when the first ones came in, setting a rhythm to which Alcaraz joined uncomfortably, against the current, unable to break the cadence. Safiullin missed and hit, a slow player, but with lethal strikes, who saw how the ball accompanied him just as in the first round against Alexandre Muller.
Alcaraz, with the titles of Indian Wells and Madrid in the Masters 1000 field, has reached the end of the course and if last week he skipped the appointment with Basel due to physical problems, he arrived in the French capital warning that he did not feel fit. one hundred by one hundred.
Failing and without arguments
The latest results had already set off alarm bells and the worst omens were confirmed in a match that, on paper, they should have won, but in which they were not able to leave their mark.. The Russian was playing the lottery and Alcaraz was barely able to respond to his barrages, failing and without arguments to trigger doubts in the rival camp.
And he began by leading in both sets, immediately breaking the serve of his opponent, who reacted quickly in both cases, recovered it immediately and returned the blow each time, leaving the Murcian without the ability to react.
Alcaraz begins to write at the 1,000 Masters in Paris the same black legend that persecuted Rafa Nadal for years. In 2021, he left crying after his defeat against Hugo Gaston, who managed to overcome a 5-0 loss to the joy of an out-of-control audience.. Last year, abdominal problems forced him to retire in the quarterfinals against Holger Rune, the eventual champion.