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Carlos Alcaraz is following in the footsteps of Rafael Nadal

Published

4 years ago

30/03/2020

Carlos Alcaraz Garfia grabbed the headlines in April 2019 when he beat Jannik Sinner in Alicante becoming the first player born in 2003 to win an ATP Challenger tournament in his first event at this level. Alcaraz broke Sinner’s winning streak of 16 consecutive matches before losing to Lukas Rosol in the next round.

The 16-year-old Spanish player won his first ATP Tour debut match beating his compatriot Alberto Ramos Vinolas 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 7-6 (7-2) in a first-round match that finished at 3.00 am after 3 hours and 37 minutes. He became the first player born in 2003 to win at ATP 500 match.

Alcaraz is coached by former world number 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero at the Equelite academy since the age of 15 and started playing at the age of four thanks to his father. His idol growing up is Nadal.

Ferrero spoke about the Spanish rising star, his tennis style in an interview to ATP Tour.com.

“Alcaraz likes to be aggressive all the time. He likes to play close to the baseline. He is not the typical player who only plays on clay courts. He likes to play on hard courts and he loves to play on grass. He played last year for the first time on grass and he loved it. He likes to finish points at the net. At the beginning I was almost sure that his best level was on clay, when I first met him. He is now improving so much on hard court and I think he can even give a little bit more level on hard court. He is playing very aggressive from the baseline and he needs to improve a little bit his serve. At 16 he is serving well. If I have to say someone that I can compare him to, it’s the game of Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer”.

Ferrero spoke about how and when he got to know Alcaraz for the first time.

“I saw him here at the JT Ferrero Equelite Sports Academy playing a tournament. We have a lot of tournaments here at the academy. I saw him for the first time playing a tournament and it helps that he lives very close to the academy in Murcia, just an hour from here. It was very easy seeing him play some matches. I remember him playing a Futures when he was 14 and got his first ATP Ranking point. I went to see some matches and I heard about this little boy who was playing at such a good level at the age of 14, so I drove over there to watch him. He was always competing against people older than him. Even the match against Albert Ramos Vinolas in Rio, the guy was 32 and Alcaraz is 16. The most important thing for him is that he improved physically very much. That’s why he can stay in the match for three and a half years and he can play against guys who are older than him”.

The Spanish teenager has been compared to his illustrious compatriot Rafael Nadal.

“Usually he hears people who say he is going to be the next Rafael Nadal. It’s going to be difficult to keep things normal and stay calm and not tell me: Why are they saying this to me. He is a little bit used to it, because most of the people here in Spain. It’s been a long time that we haven’t had anyone at the age of 16 or 17 playing this kind of level. The team that is around him, we have to try to keep a circle around him try to put this pressure away, to make him calm, to keep thing normal, so he can go his own way”, said Ferrero.

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Stefanos Tsitsipas beats Sebastian Ofner in Barcelona to extend his winning streak

Published

1 day ago

17/04/2024

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Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Sebastian Ofner 6-4 7-5 at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell to extend his winning streak to seven consecutive matches after claiming his third title at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters last week.

Tsitsipas earned an immediate break in the first game. Ofner broke straight back to draw level to 1-1. Tsitsipas earned his second break in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead and served out the first set 6-4 with a hold at 15.

Tsitsipas broke in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead. Ofner won three consecutive games with two breaks of serve to take a 5-3 lead. Tsitsipas came back by winning four consecutive games with two breaks of serve to seal the second set 7-5.

Tsitsipas has a record of 17 wins to 5 defeats in Barcelona. The Greek player reached three finals at this tournament in 2018, 2021 and 2023.

“I feel pretty good, but it is still early in the tournament. The conditions here are very different to Monte-Carlo and I felt it today when I was playing. My job is to adapt and to ensure I can bring my A game again in Barcelona this week. Today was a great test to see where I stand. I am hoping to keep on improving and getting good wins like this under my belt”, said Tsitsipas.

Tsitssipas set up a third round match against Roberto Carballes Baena, who beat Lorenzo Musetti 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 in 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Musetti saved three break points in the first game of the opening set. The Italian player earned two break points with a backhand down the line. Musetti saved two break points in the seventh game. Both players went on serve un the 12^th game when Carballes Baena saved a set point. Carballes Baena went up a 5-1 lead with two mini-breaks in the tie-break. Musetti won three consecutive points to reduce to 4-5. Carballes Baena won the final two points to take the tie-break 7-4.

Carballes Baena converted his fourth break point in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. Musetti broke back in the fifth game. Carballes Baena saved a break point in the sixth game. The Spanish player sealed the win with a break on his second match.

Last week’s Monte-Carlo finalist Casper Ruud beat Alexandre Muller 6-3 6-4 to claim his 25^th tour-level win of the season. Ruud has drawn level with Jannik Sinner for the most wins in 2024 on the ATP Tour.

Ruud set up a third round match against Jordan Thompson, who beat Jaume Munar 6-4 2-4 6-4. Roberto Bautista Agut beat Andrea Vavassori 4-6 6-4 6-1 to claim his milestone 400th match win on the ATP Tour. Bautista Agut set up a third round match against Cameron Norrie.

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Roberto Bautista Agut wins his milestone 400th match on the ATP Tour

Published

1 day ago

17/04/2024

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Roberto Bautista Agut came back from one set down to beat Australian Open doubles finalist Andrea Vavassori 4-6 6-3 6-1 after 2 hours and 1 minute at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.

Vavassori earned an early break in the first game. The Italian player earned three break points in the seventh game, but Bautista Agut saved them. The Spanish player broke straight back in the eighth game. Vavassori broke again in the ninth game to take a 5-4 lead and saved two break points before closing out the first set 6-4 on his second set point.

Both players went on serve in the first four games of the second set. Vavassori earned a break point in the fifth game, but he did not convert it. Bautista Agut broke serve in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead and did not face any break points to win the second set 6-3.

Bautista Agut broke three times to cruise through to a 6-1.

Bautista Agut reached the 400^th milestone win on the ATP Tour. The Spanish player has become the 13^th active player with at least 400 ATP Tour wins. He achieved 20 wins against members of the top 10, ten wins against top 5 players and four against world number 1s. Bautista Agut is one of the nine players, who have beaten Novak Djokovic as World number 1 more than twice.

“For me it’s just a number. The important thing is that I have done great work over these years, that I have a very consistent career, a career that I can feel proud of “, said Bautista Agut.

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Martina Trevisan beats Naomi Osaka to reach the second round in Rouen

Published

1 day ago

17/04/2024

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Martina Trevisan upset former world number 1 Naomi Osaka 6-4 6-2 in the opening round of the Open Capfinances Rouen Metropole.

Osaka has played her first clay-court match since Roland Garros 2022, where she lost to Amanda Anisimova. The Japanese player has not won a match on clay since beating Anastasia Potapova in the first round of the Madrid Mutua Open in 2022. She helped Japan beat Kazakhstan in the Billie Jean King Cup.

Trevisan reached the quarter final in 2020 and the semifinal in 2022 at Roland Garros. The former world number 18 won her only title in Rabat in 2022. She reached the quarter finals of the Zaragoza ITF 100 tournament.

Both players traded breaks in the first two games. Osaka earned two break points at 3-2 and three more chances at 4-3, but she was not able to convert them. Trevisan broke serve in the ninth game following a series of forehand errors.

Trevisan broke twice in the third and seventh games and served out the win on her first match point.

Sixteen-year-old Mirra Andreeva beat Elina Avanesyan 7-5 6-4 in 1 hour and 41 minutes to reach her second quarter final of 2024.

Andreeva went up a break in the seventh game, but Avanesyan pulled back on serve to draw level to 4-4. Andreeva broke for the second time in the 11^th game to win the second set 7-5. Andreeva broke in the first game to open up a 2-0 lead. Avanesyan converted her third break-back point in the fourth game to draw level to 2-2. Andreeva broke serve at love in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead. Avanesyan broke back in the eighth game to draw level to 4-4. Andreeva broke for the third time in the ninth game and served out the win on her second match point after saving two break points.