Resolving how he solves the second part, Carlos Alcaraz comes to paraphrase Harvey Keitel and his Mr. Lobo (mr wolf) in the marvelous pulp Fictionthere tarantiniana Cult work of 94: Hi, I’m Carlitos, I solve problems. The Canadian Denis Shapovalov – a flan who had a 4-1 income until he finally broke, cracking and conceding a series of five consecutive games –, accentuates his regression and reinforces the solid idea that the Murcian, in good Murcian, he’s a tough guy with a head (6-1, 6-4 and 6-2, after 2h 10m) and every difficulty he encounters this season, he responds with the right tools. This is how he approaches the round of 16 in Paris, in which the Italian Lorenzo Musetti awaits him.

“I screwed it all up…”, he replies with a relieved air, “so I’m very happy to have won this second set”. Alcaraz wears a Jordan cap in the conference room, very close to midnight, and appreciates the time gained on the court against an opponent who collaborated (and a lot) thanks to the fragility of his backhand and his repetition in the double faults (10 ); Shapovalov, a competitor of Jell-O. In any case, number one – the oldest in history, 24 weeks now – has once again solved a problem and sent a clear message that it takes a lot more to engage him than just a gasp or a hug when he takes his foot off the accelerator; either he is thrown away, or he does not forgive. There is no turning back.

And he reasons. “I would say that I am a complete player. I push my opponent to the limit, I’m there at every point and I force him to do great things to surpass me, I don’t lose concentration, ”he describes. “I have things to improve, everything can always be done better and I’m going to need it too, because it’s a Grand Slam; I have to do things better and I think I will do it in the next rounds”, he continues after a natural demolition exercise, as he and Shapovalov went in opposite directions.The Canadian, 24 years old and 32nd in the world, burst in as a potential figure and in time not only did he lose his excitement, but he became fades into a dangerous conformism; Conversely, Alcaraz fell like lightning and, in addition to growing day by day, seems to know no limits.

That of El Palmar in the Bois de Boulogne continues to make its way, in this latest episode ripping the rival’s back to shreds. Another scramble exit, another display of hierarchy. Faced with the evening suffering of Novak Djokovic, perhaps playing the Serb wrongly, or perhaps not, a victory without more complication than the patch of the second set. The left-hander Shapovalov, able to deliver Nadal twice, in his time Top 10, another great project from the ambitious Canadian school, fled and delivered itself unchallenged in the home straight. Musetti now appears on the horizon of the round of 16, delicious one-handed backhand (right-handed) and superior to the only previous one; awarded him the title in Hamburg last year. Academic, knows how to play.

“They have become better,” Alcaraz refers to Nadal, Federer and Djokovic, fellow travelers. “I didn’t have the opportunity to play against Rune [dos veces] or Musseti [la citada]but yes against Sinner [ya eliminado]. Our matches are physically and tennis demanding, and of course that makes me progress; I’m sure we’re going to meet some great people and I’m sure they’ll help me progress”, underlines the Murcian before heading to the hotel, day after day nourishing the candidacy he has been proposing since the beginning of spring, when he put into sixth gear and celebrated here and there, from Latin America to Europe: Buenos Aires-Indian Wells-Barcelona-Madrid. Paris? “I was and I am stubborn”, he recalls And he has it between his eyebrows.

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