New test passed for Carlos Alcaraz, in this case in his debut at the Masters 1000 in Toronto. The Spanish tennis player did not have a great day on the Canadian court, but he knew how to pull from experience against a Ben Shelton who was seen to be as talented as he was unstable and that against the number one in the world, no matter how much he shows a somewhat gray version, he does not It’s enough. Alcaraz broke at the right time in the first set and waited for the tie-break in the second to end the contest with a result of 6-3, 7-6 to meet on Thursday with the Polish Hubert Hurkacz.
Alcaraz did not feel comfortable at practically any moment of the match, needing a competitive rhythm on a hard court in a match in which Ben Shelton did not give it to him, but at least he gave him the pleasure of adding a victory on a day that seemed to him It could have made the great favorite for the title in Toronto much more difficult. As happened a year ago in Montreal, Carlos was irregular in his debut shots, but Shelton is currently less than his executioner in 2022, Tommy Paul, and Alcaraz knew where and when to damage the North American to advance to the round of 16. final.
The match did not have very outstanding moments during its hour and 39 minutes of play, to the point that practically the highlight was the celebration of Carlos, who dedicated another message on camera to Fernando Alonso, with whom he appears complicit whenever possible . “Soft, soft, hard. Manual undercut », Alcaraz wrote at the end of the contest against Shelton, with whom he also has a great relationship, as evidenced by the youthful embrace that both gave each other online.
And it was a meeting of the present, but above all of the future. The two tennis players are 20 years old, although Shelton, born in 2002 – Alcaraz did it in 2003 – looks much greener than Alcaraz. The North American is a good prospect, with great potential for the future as if he were an NBA talent, but his blows are not accompanied by tactics and continuity, so Carlos, drawing on experience and knowing how to be, ended up causing the necessary failures to sign up each set with just enough and reach the round of 16, where Hurkacz aims to pose more problems for the Murcian.
The key points of Alcaraz – Shelton
The meeting had self-confidence and travel, but not too many exchanges. What did mark were the two key moments, when Alcaraz took off, which curiously came when Shelton was better… without taking advantage of his opportunities. The break, the only one of the match, came at the beginning of the first set, after the North American opened the match with three frustrated break points to the rest. Carlos Alcaraz did not forgive and Ben’s failures did the rest.
In the second, both players remained firm on serve, with different styles, and with many unforced errors to the rest. Thus, the decision had to be in a tie-break to which Shelton agreed with full confidence in his possibilities but Alcaraz, cerebral and choosing to put the ball on the track, would end up taking it, giving his rival a lesson in seniority in a duel of post-adolescents that can be repeated several times in the coming years and in higher rounds, although not in the Toronto 2023 Masters 1000, where Carlos Alcaraz is already in the round of 16.
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