PARIS – Alexander Zverev, ranked No. 3, returned to the semifinals of the French Open with a 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7) victory over Carlos Alcaras on Tuesday, ending the Spanish 19 Exciting running of a one-year-old child at Roland Garros.
The 25-year-old Zverev also quelled Alcaraz’s exciting return to the quarter-finals. Zverev, defeated by Alcaras in the final of the Madrid Open before the French Open, was the more consistent and convincing player for nearly three sets. “I think it would be very difficult to get him back in the game and allow him to gain confidence,” Zverev said.
But Alcaras, on the verge of a quick elimination, picked up the game. As usual, it was a great sight, as he made delicate drop shots, daring returns, reflex volley and forehand winners, which left the 6-foot 6-meter Zverev staring longingly at the footprints of the ball on the clay.
Alkaras, like Novak Djokovic, is half tennis, half gymnast. And with a wave of brilliant and acrobatic tennis, Alkaras, ranked number 6, took the third set and with another jump at the end of the fourth set he broke Zverev’s serve when the German star served for the match at 5-4. This match on all courts so far was completely worthy of a tiebreak and the two men achieved excellent results under duress and also failed.
Alcaras had a set point at 6-5 in the tiebreak and failed to realize it when he made an unforced error with his backhand at the top of the net. Zverev missed his own backhand in his first matchball.
It was 7-7 now, and the chanting of “Carlos, Carlos” was getting louder. But Zverev, with the audience and the flow against him, hardened, winning the next two points to end the match. He ended the victory with a bold backhand winner on a line that Alcaras, one of the fastest men in tennis, could not come close.
“This is a shot I like, it’s true,” said Zverev, grinning during his press conference after the match, which began with a triumphant raise of both hands.
“I’ve done a lot in my career,” he said of his backhand return winner. “But I had to win the match myself, I felt that I would either miss it a mile from the country or hit a winner, and I achieved a winner, which I am quite happy about.”
Alcaras, in the midst of a breakthrough season, still played only four Grand Slam tournaments.
“I’m leaving the court, I’m leaving the tournament with my head held high,” he said. “I fight to the last ball. I fought until the last second of the match and I am proud of that. “
But tennis with the best of five sets remains a different kind of challenge than the best of the three sets played on the regular tour. So far, Alcaras’ best results in major tournaments are quarterfinal runs at the US Open last year and now in Paris.
“I didn’t start well and at this level, the quarter-finals of the Grand Slam, you play against the best players in the world, so you have to start the game better than me today,” Alcaras said. “I have to take the lesson. I want to say that I have to improve until the next Grand Slam or the next matches. But I would say I’m not far from reaching the semifinals or winning the Grand Slam. “
Zverev, a Roland Garros semifinalist last year, clearly felt the odds were against him on Tuesday in light of Alcaras’ latest results. Alcaras won the Barcelona and Madrid titles consecutively on red clay and resumed Roland Garros after saving a match ball against his compatriot Albert Ramos Vignolas in the second round.
“I knew I had to play my best tennis today from the beginning and I’m happy I did,” Zverev said. “Obviously he kept coming back. He is an amazing player. I told him online, he will win this tournament many times, not just once, and I just hope to win it before he starts beating us all and we won’t have a chance. “
Zverev, despite his good performance (and obvious relief) on Tuesday, is still a long way from winning his first Grand Slam title in singles. In the semifinals, he will face the winner of Tuesday’s second match: a night session between No. 1 Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, who won the French Open a record 13 times.
“It really doesn’t get any easier from here,” said Zverev, who still looks delighted. “But I have said many times that I am no longer 20 or 21 years old; I’m 25. I’m at the stage where I want to win, I’m at the stage where I have to win, too. “
Add Comment