Carlos Alcaraz is the US Open toast of 2021, but his success is no surprise

NEW YORK-Two days after he gave a favorable presentation to tennis fans, Carlos Alcaraz took the field in front of an audience of more than 8,000 at Grandstand Stadium in his fourth-round match at the US Open on Sunday. Despite the looming threat of rain, there was a voice from the 18-year-old feeling.

“Come on Carlos!” shouted one fan.

“I heard he was the next Rafa,” another said to his friends.

Three and a half hours and five sets later, Alcaraz had won again — returning down fourth against Peter Gojowczyk — and became the youngest man to advance to the semifinals of the Open tournament of the Era. It was only the third five-round match in Alcaraz’s career and his second in less than 48 hours. Participants cheered furiously at every point of her and often sang to her during breaks.

Alcaraz became the New York toast on Friday after he was shocked by his victory over third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas at Arthur Ashe Stadium, but tennis insiders have long been aware of Alcaraz’s intense play and limitless possibilities. For them, reaching the goal in the second week is no surprise.

It just didn’t have to be this early.

“I didn’t expect to play in the semi-finals here,” Alcaraz said on Sunday.

On the other hand, he is no stranger to the “youngest of all time” or “youngest after” secretion because his fast-growing rsum is full of such confessions. Next, Alcaraz will take 12th place Felix Auger-Aliassi on Tuesday, with a chance to get to the semifinals — and show more people what Tsitsipas found for himself.

“He can apply for Grand Slam championships,” Tsitsipas said after the match. “He has a game to be there.”

Alcaraz grew up idolizing Spanish compatriot Rafael Nadal, and his solemn court behaviors often show amazing resemblance. But collaborating with other big tennis stars in Spain helped transport Alcaraz to the highest stages of the sport.

In 2018, he began working with Juan Carlos Ferrero, a former world number one and 2003 French Open champion. Alcaraz became a professional the same year. Ferrero immediately recognized the talent of his young protg, but knew he should find a way to curb his power and maximize aggression.

“Since I met him when he was 14, 15, I knew about his potential, his level,” Ferrero said Saturday. “But definitely to be so aggressive, you have to control yourself and be able to control all the shots you have of his aggression. It’s not easy because sometimes, you know, comes up with a lot of ideas to hit the ball and you have to try not to put all these things together so you don’t play as a plan.

“So Carlos is starting to take control of all these things on the field. Outside of the field, he’s still 18 and he has to mature, control his emotions there and control when he has to go 100 percent potential or when he has to use 80 percent or sometimes play a lot more spins or smoother. So he’s on his way to order all sorts of things, but I think he’s a good way to do it. ”

Alcaraz can often be seen looking – or screaming or fisting – in the direction of Ferrero while on the field. And because Ferrero has helped take Alcaraz’s career from the lower levels of the sport to current heights, his need for validation may make sense.

Alcaraz won his first ITF Futures Championship at the age of 16 in July 2019 and opened 2020 on the same tour. His success at the start of the season made him a joker for the Rio Open in February.

In his first ATP tour level match, he defeated former world No. 17 Albert Ramos-Vinolas in a fierce battle that lasted 3 hours and 36 minutes. Alcaraz became the youngest player to win a tour match since 2013 and the first to win it in 2003. Although the tour was suspended just weeks later due to the pandemic, Alcaraz found a way to raise its ranking by 350 seats by the end of the year – jumping from 491 to 136.

He won three Challenger titles after the restart and was selected as the newcomer of the year for ATP.

Alcaraz faced Nadal in the second round at the Madrid Open in May 2021. Alcaraz lost the match 6-1, 6-2, but impressed the 20-time grand champ in his first meeting.

“When you make a salad and put the ingredients inside the salad, he has a lot of ingredients to make him a great player,” Nadal said. “That’s the main thing. Then, of course, nothing is easy. You have big opponents ahead. I mean, nothing is easy in this life.

“Be[ing] one of the best players in the world and fighting for the top title is something very difficult, but I really think he’s one of those guys who can do it. “

Alcaraz won his first ATP title in July with an open 6-2, 6-2 decision in Croatia in the final with the top ten players Richard Gasquet. With the victory, he became the youngest title on tour since Kei Nishikor in 2008.

The teen told ESPN in December that his goals for the new season were to make a big win at all the big companies and break into the top 50. He has done both – and then some.

He reached the second round at the Australian Open and Wimbledon and reached the 32nd round with Roland Garros. Currently in 55th place, a victory over Tsitsipas raised Alcaraz to the predicted 50th place, and he is expected to rise to 38th after Sunday’s win.

A win in the quarterfinals would elevate Alcaraz to the top 30.

While Brad Gilbert, a former World No. 4 and ESPN analyst, was well acquainted with Alcaraz’s game for the US Open, even he was shocked by what he saw in the third round shock because of Tsitsipas.

“I had no idea he could hit that big,” Gilbert said. “I think I was most surprised by how he smashed the ball from both sides during the first four games of the match. He just smashes the ball.

“I didn’t think he could serve more than 126,127 [mph], but he popped 134. He hits many palms more than 100 miles per hour. I didn’t know he could do it. It was great to testify live. “

Alcaraz was in the away position as a favorite on Sunday for the 32-year-old German qualifier against Gojowczyk. Alcaraz said it didn’t change the way he prepared for the match, but he struggled from time to time — he served the first set 5-4 but was broken and then lost for four consecutive games — and he was wildly inconsistent all the time. But when it mattered most, he was dominant in the final installment. He did not lose the game in the finisher and took the match 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 6-0.

Although he had thrown his racket and fell to the ground – where he lay with his arms outstretched on his face – after defeating Tsitsipas, this time Alcaraz was more prepared, more prepared at the moment. He bowed slightly and shook his hands happily, and later he blew kisses on the crowd and posed for selfies with the fans. He later said he was happy that he had made progress.

– I’m very excited about my first second week [a] Grand Slam, “Alcaraz said.” That’s amazing to me. It’s a dream. “

On Tuesday, he will return to a failed role, albeit much less now than in the third round with Auger-Aliasse. Alcaraz has never competed against a 21-year-old Canadian player who is also looking for his first major semi-final match.

Alcaraz was the second of two teenagers to rise to eight in the finals on Sunday when Leylah Fernandez, 19, won Angelique Kerber in the women’s raffle, and Emma Raducanu, 18, played for the spot on Monday. In their success — and the success of many other young players such as Auger-Alias ​​and former Grand Champions Bianca Andreescu, 21, and Iga Swiatek, 20, both of whom remain in the women’s raffle — it seems that the future of tennis has arrived.

And no matter what happens in the semi-finals or after, Alcaraz has made a believer in many during his incredible run at the US Open.

“He’s coming in like a freight train,” Gilbert said. “I don’t want to say,‘ Oh, he wins this or that, ’but I say this: If he were a stock, I would give him a‘ buy ’rating.

“The great thing is that he has a really good coach, and it’s just getting better. Keep improving your game and movement, keep getting stronger. There’s no doubt that he has the potential to be a top-5 player and of course he can be better.”