2023-11-19 02:16:41
“It was a perfect match,” he says. Novak Djokovic after signing, yes, an impeccable match against Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard wanted to extend the smile that he had discovered that he still had after beating Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev, but he collides with a Djokovic who does not tolerate jokes or nonsense. This is how the Serbian has created his legend: with three more levels in the moments in which the award is observed. He is unappealable in melee from the bottom and implacable with the rest. Alcaraz, another learning tournament, remains in the semifinals in his debut, like Rafael Nadal, like Roger Federer, applause from Turin for his bravery.
The Pala Alpitour has been celebrating this meeting since the morning, as there have been four precedents of pure spectacle, with a last warning in the final of the Masters 1,000 in Cincinnati just a few weeks ago, of three hours and 49 minutes. But this second semi-final of the ATP Finals because it is a match of maximums that goes from what Alcaraz wants to what Djokovic wants, which is everything, his ninth final, to tie with Ivan Lendl, and only one match, today against Jannik Sinner, with whom he seeks his seventh crown , to surpass Federer.
For now, he surpasses Alcaraz with a laissez-faire strategy. All bravery, intensity and great rights at the beginning with which he reprimands Djokovic, crouching and with the obligation to extinguish as best he can those impetus of the Spaniard’s 20 years. But he does it, big time. Fists raised after raising any danger and forcefulness to tell the rival that he is not the Djokovic who was on the verge of being eliminated, but Sinner recovered it by beating Rune when nothing was at stake. It will be seen today if the Italian regrets that decision.
Djokovic manages to extinguish the Spaniard’s fuse and light his own. ‘Nole, Nole’, chants the stands. He does it not with power, but with control. His blows to the lines are measured, lowering the revolutions that reach him and raising his fists and arms, an inspiration of pride in the face of the rival’s initial intensity. And as soon as the Spaniard accepts that everything he tries does not hurt, when he observes that the strategy does not work, the serve reduces its effectiveness and Djokovic sneaks in until the end.
In the seventh game of the first set, the Serbian is already swollen. He wins all the long exchanges and Alcaraz begins to fail in the air, the forehand and the backhand (22 errors), and he can’t even handle the serve. “It has been very hard. He has played the same level throughout the game. The quality he has is incredible, if he plays deep it is very difficult to beat him. Once again he has shown why he is the best in this sport », he admits between laughs of resignation.
And it is with laughter because he wants to look at the positive side of this tough defeat, unable to get up in the second set, perhaps more abusive on the scoreboard than in what is experienced on the court. «I have felt that I have to train much more because I was not at the level that Novak was. Indoors he has a lot of experience. I have played very little, I am not used to it. I leave feeling bad, hurt, but at the same time, I am aware of what I have to focus on in the preseason. He has surpassed me in many aspects. “I will watch the game and with a pen and paper I will write down what I have to improve to be at Novak’s level.”
And he highlights ‘Novak’ because he also knows that with that level he has shown he would have had many more options with any other rival. «Two break balls in the first game, I played three points, very good shots, I had the option. A forehand that I finally stopped throwing stayed in the net, it could have been a break. He has not taken advantage of that opportunity and it has screwed me up,” he acknowledges and explains in this way those gestures to his box that the public is not used to with the Murcian: “I couldn’t have played some points better, and I still lost them anyway. It was a bit of frustration. Juanki told me to stay there, mentally strong, but I couldn’t do it.
Juan Carlos Ferrero, coach of El Palmar, points to Djokovic as the best in history. «I personally drool when she plays because of how she moves and touches the ball. It is almost unbreakable on this surface. When he is mentally one hundred percent, it is outrageous how he handles the hot moments and moments of the game. He has impressive quality, on serve, forehand, backhand and rest. It puts pressure on you at all points. He doesn’t miss twice in a row in the entire game. He achieves almost excellence. For me he is the best ». Hence he applauds his pupil for how he has tried and how he has risen this week.
It’s the end of the course and it’s time to collect your grades. There have been 65 victories, six titles, number 2 in the world, Wimbledon… This is how Alcaraz values it: «It has been a spectacular season, with two thousand more points, without playing Australia. I have played great games, I have been improving little by little, I have also known how to deal with pressure. It seems that I am leaving sad or bad because of the sensations, but I am leaving happy. “It has been a spectacular year with many positive things that I would like to repeat.” But it’s Alcaraz, and he will want to get an eleven in 2024.
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