Alcaraz, implacable against Ruud and, for the first time, finalist in Paris

“I'm very proud of myself,” says Carlos Alcaraz after beating the Norwegian Casper Ruud (double 6-4, in 1h 26m) and thus achieving his first pass to the final of the Paris Masters, in which, whims of fate, he will meet this Sunday (3:00 p.m., Movistar+) with the American Ben Shelton (5-7, 6-3 and 6-4 to Luka Van Aasche). Therefore, morbillo. The American (24 years old and 4th in the world) will be coached next year by an ex, Juan Carlos Ferrero, and if that were not enough he beat him in the last match between the two, in that volcanic evening in New York resolved to five sets and between suspense. The Murcian then returned from the reserve and now faces it in a different way, more refined. It will be seen.

In any case, the day after saving his neck in a magnificent fight with Taylor Fritz - who had two options to win the match -, Alcaraz maintains the positive biorhythms and disembarks in the final episode of a tournament that until now has eluded him. “It was always hard for me, but this year I came in fresher,” he clarifies before going to the shower, having become the fifth Spanish finalist – before that were Andrés Gimeno (1972), Sergio Casal (1986), Rafael Nadal (2007) and David Ferrer (2012 and 2013) – and wanting to follow in the footsteps of the only one who managed to triumph under the Parisian roof: Ferrer, who, precisely, next year will train Ruud, according to Eurosport.

It doesn't take long for the wave to overflow the wall, more or less the half hour that Alcaraz spends in having his army of piranhas - ball here-ball there, ball here-ball there, bite-bite-bite... - pierce Ruud's defensive framework, who hesitates, gasps, recoils, repels (as best he can), suffers it and, in the end, puts on a face of resignation: too much pressure. Does this never end? Nothing of that. Unbearable! The Nordic tries to take a step forward, but the Murcian's powerful blow forces him to compete all the time from the trenches; that is, difficult, so very difficult. There is only one way: steal the initiative. Easy to say, difficult to achieve.

If he takes over the game, the Spaniard becomes an ordeal and, in the same vein as these autumn days, he wants to compete. The almost five months away from the courts have been the perfect food for Alcaraz to face this last quarter of the year with the desire to take on the world, to send a message and tell the rest that here he is, that he had not forgotten to play and that sometimes it is good to take a prudent distance from what one adores so that that bug bites again. He's hungry, he goes for everything, he wants more. Paris, Turin, the Davis. Pim-pam-pum! Shots and more shots, aggressiveness, without saving anything, which is why he was at home recharging his batteries.

Let it be noticed. “Playing with 80 or 90, you don't need 100!” his coach, Samuel López, suggests from the sidelines, perhaps looking at that wrist that should continue to be cared for—up to this point, not a trace of discomfort or pain—and that will never lose its memory; That is, he invents whatever he wants, whether it's a twisted parabola or a flat shot or, even more difficult, that backhand shot practically from the baseline, as if it were a volley five inches from the net.

Transgressive, Alcaraz already warned him when he arrived: he came here to do it his way, breaking, if necessary, any logical rules or classical molds that may exist. Where others see limits, he sees attractive opportunities. Win or lose, your palette is endless. Unique.

Ruud, who is trying to make up for lost ground after a difficult period, puts in as much effort as possible and tries to keep the duel from breaking up too quickly. However, in the seventh game the break came and the issue became more complicated. The day before I was wearing a couple of compression bandages to protect my kneecaps and this time it's one, so it's something. And let it not be left for him. The Norwegian (27 years old and 23rd in the world) had fallen in six of the previous seven, but at least he has the consolation that that solitary victory was hard and indoors. Let it not be for lack of faith. And despite everything, he is still there.