Alcaraz did not imagine that his first day in action in his return “to a track that is so special to me” would end as it did: early (due to the withdrawal of his rival) and singing Vagabundo, by Sebastián Yatra , in front of more than 20,000 spectators.
As if being the youngest number one in history, the brand new Wimbledon champion or the player with the most wins (56) and titles (6) since the beginning of the year was not enough to intimidate his rivals, Carlitos Alcaraz started the defense of his title wearing a sleeveless shirt, which exposed the muscles of his shoulders and arms.
Waiting for him on the other side of the net was Dominik Koepfer, with whom he had never competed. The German, 75th in the ranking, had been suffering from a shoulder injury for two years which had often forced him to play in pain. But thanks to some positive results this season, Koepfer was optimistic and looking forward to facing Alcaraz, “the biggest challenge in tennis, right now”, in a night match at the Ashe. “It will be very special.”
He didn’t have much luck. It hadn’t even been three minutes into the game when, already with a break point against them, in the first game, the German allowed a loose ball from Alcaraz to pass. Stepping badly with his left foot, he twisted his ankle 90 degrees. It looked like it would be the end of the match, but after a medical period in which he was treated and his ankle bandaged, Koepfer wanted to continue playing, so as not to disappoint an eager tennis crowd, but he could only last one time
“It’s not the best way to win a game,” Alcaraz told his courtside interviewer, Brad Gilbert. Since there wasn’t much of a tennis spectacle, Gilbert wanted to create a bit of a show and mentioned that Sebastián Yatra was in the stands, and that he had heard that he often sang one of his songs. “Can you sing it for us a bit?”, he asked. The number one hesitated for a few moments, but as soon as the first bars of Vagabundo rang through the stadium speakers he was encouraged to sing with the same gusto as he attacks a right-hander, in front of a rapturous crowd at the Arthur Court Ashe.
In the subsequent press conference, the young champion took stock of what had happened on the track. “Obviously, I like hard battles and unfortunately it couldn’t be today. But at the same time, I’m happy to go to the hotel earlier than we thought. That way we have more time to recover and we can go to bed earlier.”
The Murcian was very satisfied with the sensations, albeit brief, that he had on the track, where he was indifferent to the pressure of defending his title in New York. “I felt very good, very comfortable and playing at a high level. I don’t think about winning the trophy, or about what I did last year, but I focus on being at the same level, on having the same feelings”.
Having overcome the first of the seven matches he must win to regain his crown in Flushing Meadows, the next step will be another player he has not faced before, the South African Lloyd Harris, 177th in the classification. “We know how he plays, what his style is. We will try to see some of the last games he has played and from there see how the tactics will be”.
