It was dawn behind the Unisphere, the stainless steel globe that rests in the middle of Flushing Meadows, the mythical setting for the ending of the movie Men in Black, when Carlos Alcaraz left the US Open venue accompanied by his team. Satisfied and exhausted, although not in equal parts. A little satisfied, yes, but extremely exhausted. Made a chrome, wow. After four and a half hours of battle against Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals of the US Open, digesting the defeat, attending to the media in the hallways of the Arthur Ashe court and going through the shower, he went to the hotel in an organization car with the look of falling asleep immediately, on the same journey.
"I'm proud. After so many months without playing, in the third set I felt very tired, but I knew how to handle the situation to return to the match and I was able to leave the court with a smile. When you suffer problems like that you can lose, but you have to leave it all," commented Alcaraz, a victim of Shelton's powerful game and also of the circumstances.
Because his inactivity prior to the US Open was combined with the fact that he was playing his second match at night in this tournament, most of which had been played at noon in New York, and the impossible management of schedules in a Grand Slam. The three matches prior to his were extended to the maximum, with the duel between Frances Tiafoe and Alex Michelsen also decided in the super tie break, and the Spaniard found himself warming up at 11:30 p.m. and competing in especially adverse conditions.
"Night matches are harder because there is more humidity, the ball gets bigger and the exchanges tend to be longer. Shelton has played very well, his serve is a very powerful weapon, he knew at all times what he had to do and physically he is a beast. I congratulate him," he said after applauding his executioner, despite the fact that there was some tension between the two on the court.
All the tension that a player who usually gets along with Alcaraz admits. In the second set a curious thing happened. Shelton, American, very American, began to celebrate his points with the classic "Let's go!" in a clear imitation of Spanish. It could be heard throughout the track. It was strange. So strange that it seemed to work for him, because that was when Alcaraz went through his worst moments. "Let's go!", "Let's go!", and then another "Let's go!" Alcaraz never said anything, nor did he seem to care too much, but when he recovered in the fourth set and took the duel to the abyss of the super tie break of the fifth, he let out a resounding "Let's go!". Exchange of blows.
It was interesting to observe how the New York public also cheered the Spaniard's successes, despite cheering for his compatriot. "That's why we train so many days and so many hours each day. To come here, play a game like this and put on a show. It was nice to see how much fun people were having even though it was three in the morning," said Alcaraz, who could only see the stands below. The ones at the top, with the cheapest tickets, progressively emptied as the match progressed. There are people who have to get up early to go to work.
"In some moments I could have done more. In the super tie break, when I was two points up, I missed a return that I shouldn't have missed. But tennis is like that. For me the most important thing is that I leave the tournament with several matches played, with a high pace and, above all, healthy. I'm already thinking about the rest of the season," concluded Alcaraz, who with his defeat lost 1,600 points in the ATP ranking and was exposed to losing the number three in the world precisely to Shelton, although that He hardly cares. With the right wrist already recovered, the margin to recover on the world list is wide and the calendar is long.
