If Carlos Alcaraz’s arm hurt, it didn’t seem like it. All the doubts that the Murcian’s participation in the Madrid Masters 1000 had generated due to his problems in his right arm, the same ones that prevented him from participating in the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell – Conde de Godó Trophy, were dissipated in just over an hour . How long his premiere lasted at the Caja Mágica with Alexander Shevchenko as a mere spectator (6-2, 6-1).
As he had announced, Alcaraz jumped onto the court with protection on his right arm but displayed tennis that had little or nothing to do with that of a limping player. In his debut in the clay court season, the one from El Palmar moved with the ease as always and was relentless with his trademark blows.
The winner of the last two editions of the tournament passed like a whirlwind over poor Shevchenko, a Kazakh tennis player of Russian origin little known to the general public but who flirts with entering the top 50 of the ATP. He is not just anybody.
But, on the court, Alcaraz seemed to have no rival thanks to an imposing and powerful game. He marched through the first set with overwhelming authority. He had a small mistake and lost his serve in the sixth game, but recovered it the next and continued hitting until winning the first set.
In the second, his superiority even grew against a desperate Shevchenko, who hit what he thought were winners and found answers on the other side of the court that were winners thanks to Alcaraz’s feline legs. Desperate, the Russian even confronted his box on one occasion, visibly blocked.
The script was repeated and the Murcian relaxed in a game, when he dominated 3-0, and gave up his serve. But his superiority was such that he recovered it again in the next one, with some of those shots that he had not been able to enjoy for weeks. And, from there, everything went downhill until his incontestable victory.
The Brazilian Seyboth Wild, with whom he has never met, will be his rival in the second round of the capital tournament.
