Something happens in Paris, where the strongest—not all, but a good handful of them—are falling in single file, thus turning the tournament into a kind of lottery. Rafa Jódar gave up on Tuesday night against Casper Ruud and a day later, when it seemed that the Spaniard had gotten rather tough about getting a ticket for the Turin Masters Cup, fortune smiled on him: from one blow to the next. From Alex de Miñaur (7-6 (2) and 6-3) against Tomás Martín Etcheverry) to Novak Djokovic (2-6, 6-3 and 6-3 with Rinky Hijikata). His chances of qualifying for the master event, then, are still alive; very alive, in fact. Two obstacles less, two more ahead. Days of suspense in La Défense.
Now, only Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul can deprive him of the big event in Turin, where the best eight of the season will meet (from November 15 to 22). After an intense final sprint, the accounts are clear: the first needs to reach the semifinals, while the second should climb one more step. In any case, Fritz suffered a lot to avoid burning and progress, after another twisted episode against Alex Molcan who opted when the Slovakian had cornered him. When he was already pale, a double fault rescued him: 6-7(6), 7-5 and 7-6(5). The Californian sighed and was grateful: that's right, by the skin of his teeth. Also very close to falling into the mud.
Before, the Russian Daniil Medvedev had said goodbye (double 6-4 for Ignacio Buse) and also the new number one, Alexander Zverev, who lost against the odds against Lorenzo Musetti (7-6 (5) and 6-2) and underlined the feeling that, at this point in the film, tennis players basically compete with what they have left. That is, a little.
The final stretch of the course translates into a survival test in which minds and legs fail, and in which freshness allows Carlos Alcaraz to avoid the traps in which the rest are putting their feet. The debut was tough against Alex Michelsen, a puncher who had already challenged him in Tokyo - three sets there; However, this time he did not have the need to delay: 7-6(4) and 6-3 (in 1h 41m). Number three the world knew how to successfully handle a very worked pulse that, surely, will help him continue deciphering that surface at which everyone looks with strange eyes. The index—48.3, according to the measurement system—says that it is the fastest, but at a glance everything is going slowly.
There are those who suggest that the slowness responds to the balls, the Dunlop balls that have been used since the Shanghai Masters and that as the game goes on, they swell and become hairy, gaining considerably weight. It is difficult to move them, the bounce is low (very leaden) and tennis players frequently hit from uncomfortable positions. The player from El Palmar will have to navigate this field, as he knows well the complexity of a scenario in which he has not managed to get past the quarter-finals. Five participations, and as many disappointments; from that night that scored so much against Hugo Gaston at the first opportunity a year ago against Cameron Norrie.
Whether in Bercy (previous headquarters) or now in La Défense, the man from Murcia finds a major challenge that he will try to overcome. More complicated if possible this time: five wins in five days, without respite. To compensate, the development of the tournament has cleared its way with screening. In any case, Alcaraz pays attention above all to the state of his tennis and, from the outset, he put in a very neat performance against Michelsen (22 years old and 35º), resolved based on nerve and control. No fireworks, but enough. He remained upright despite the initial disadvantage in the jump-off (1-4) and stayed on track in the second round.
He will face Matteo Berrettini this Thursday (not before 7:00 p.m., Movistar+). The Italian (30 years old and 43rd) beat local Ugo Humbert 7-6(3) and 7-5. He distrusts the Spanish and does well: few tracks and few environments more treacherous than this autumnal one in Paris, where in the last ten editions eight different champions have been registered; Djokovic only repeated, already fallen and now regretting. For the first time since 2005, when he was beginning to put his head into the elite, the Serbian will not have reached the quarterfinals in any Masters 1000. “I am disappointed,” said Nole, who closed his season in this way and will embark on a new path in December. He will do it at 40 years old.
