In the courtesy car that takes us from Earl’s Court to Wimbledon, the reporters, nervous, look at the clock when the traffic stops, what queues are in London, and Albert Costa and Roberto Carretero, who were magnificent players and today they comment on tennis on TV for Movistar Plus, they say:
-But how great Alcaraz is, with that explosiveness, that power of his legs, that elasticity of a cat and that ability he has to adapt to all surfaces. It has everything.
And the chronicler, mentally, takes note.
(…)
The Center Court crowd has taken a break after the intense Jabeur-Ribàkina that was played in the previous round (the match was a repeat of the 2022 final; this time, Jabeur avenges the defeat), went out to uncork a wine or a champagne (glasses proliferate in the stands) and arrives late at the Alcaraz-Rune.
Hundreds of Londoners appear in the vomitoris in the middle of the first set, and by the end the desks, the common areas and the boxes are filled.
Like ants, thousands of caparrons, with pamelas, hats and caps, follow the events from the top of the stage.
Then the party has no fixed direction. The score is 3-3 and neither Alcaraz nor Rune gives away a point.
The duel will be a classic, you can see then, despite the fact that the issue has been around for a long time.
Generation mates, both had been the best of their age and had shared doubles matches six years ago, when they were fourteen (on YouTube there is a video of Les Petits As, the unofficial Children’s World Cup held annually in Tarba, and what they defined themselves as), and now they are on their way to becoming the masters of tennis, which will definitely happen when Djokovic gives way to them.
Therefore, they know each other.
If asked about Rune, Alcaraz answers:
-His best shot is the backhand.
Rune, from Alcaraz, applauds the violent drive.
Yes, they know each other well.
And the duel is a sensational adventure, the combat between a Spaniard who distributes blows with the right and left and a Dane (what did we know, from the Danish school of tennis?) who responds with a backhand with two hands.
And he doesn’t concede any, there are no breaks in the first leg, which is decided by details and Alcaraz’s success in the tie-break, and the match is only decided clearly in the second, at 1h 44m of play, when the Murcian finally breaks Rune’s serve (it is placed at 5-4) and the Dane is already arguing with his box, he is boiling, he understands that his time will come, but that it is not this one.
And Alcaraz starts to fly, he lets himself go and now tortures Rune, the Dane who recently got rid of two Spaniards, Roberto Carballés and Alejandro Davidovich, the latest victim of stage fright and incomprehensible service of spoon at a decisive moment.
Alcaraz seems to take revenge for them and he does it by abusing the former doubles partner, the childhood partner, the sport is like this: there are no friends when the judge settles the dispute.
There is only cannibalism.
– There are no friends on the track – says Alcaraz.
And Rune fights, sixth racket in the world, fights and dialogues with the market, with the mother, who follows him everywhere (“I need her and knows it”, he says when asked) and tries to keep him afloat.
But, by then, Alcaraz has already taken the trick.
Alcaraz is water, be water, my friend, and he sneaks through the shallows and sinks the opponent’s boat, he goes in with a copy of right-hand blows finished with an embarrassing drop. He has the rhythm and tone and manipulates Rune. He dominates it better than he had dominated the previous rivals, Jarry and Berrettini, service and volley people, grass purists.
-I didn’t think I would get to play at this level on this court. For me, it’s crazy – says Alcaraz.
And now he is dating Daniil Medvedev, the best of the next generation, a Russian without a flag who had already faced Rafael Nadal (how to forget the final between the two, Medvedev and Nadal, at the 2022 Australian Open, a duel to five sets prologued by the extradition of Djokovic?) and that he has been left alone in defense of his generation. And I remember the conversation with Albert Costa in the courtesy car, hours before.
– The next gen is history, isn’t it?
Albert Costa, who won Roland Garros in 2002, nods.
