Alcaraz: "I try to focus only on the game"


The Murcian tennis player Carlos Alcaraz Garfia, yesterday, in his debut in the Gran Canaria Challenger 2 on the courts of El Cortijo.  |  |  MARTA MAGNI

The Murcian tennis player Carlos Alcaraz Garfia, yesterday, in his debut in the Gran Canaria Challenger 2 on the courts of El Cortijo. | | MARTA MAGNI

Carlos Alcaraz Garfia, a priori the main favorite to win the ATP Challenger Gran Canaria 2 tournament, has made his debut in it, winning in three sets (6-3, 6-7 (3) and 6-1 in 1 hour and 57 minutes) to the Romanian Filip Cristian Jianu and thus accesses the round of 16 of this championship that is held on the clay of the El Cortijo de Telde Tennis Academy.

The 17-year-old young tennis player from Murcia, who this week appears in position 131 of the ATP rankings, was measured against another teenager like Jianu, 19 years old and number 389 in the world.

Alcaraz, who was supposed to have made his debut in the Canarian tournament against Italian Stefano Napolitano, but was dropped at the last minute, is making a hiatus in his hard court season, which had its climax with participation in the Australian Open and on this surface, which is where he trains regularly, he also showed his skills.

The game started with the two solid players on serve and taking their services with hardly any points -two Alcaraz and just one Jianu until 2-2-. In the fifth game El Palmar suffered a lot more to continue taking the initiative, but, despite the double faults, he succeeded and from that moment he imposed his tennis.

He obtained his first 'break' in the crash and that reaffirmed him to score the first being by 6-3 in 32 minutes. As in the first round, taking out was synonymous with taking the game to 2-3. Paradoxically, something similar happened, but this time against Juan Carlos Ferrero's pupil, because in the sixth game he was the one who yielded.

At that compromised moment, that mental strength appeared that stands out so much in this young man, still underage, and that made him overcome immediately. A 'break' in response, another service won and again equality: 4-4. It lasted until 5-5 and 6-6 with each player becoming strong putting the ball in play.

Therefore, sudden death was reached and there Jianu was more successful to equalize the game with a partial 6-7 (3) after 1 hour and two minutes of intense battle.

The outcome of the set did not make much of a dent to Alcaraz according to his compartment in the third and final. Twenty-three minutes were enough for him to win it by a resounding score of 6-1 and passing over Jianu. In his next meeting in Telde, his rival will be the Argentine Marco Trungelliti, 31 years old and 248 in the world, who clearly beat the Spanish Adrián Menéndez-Maceiras 6-0 and 6-2.

“It was a difficult debut. My opponent has been here for more than a week, while this year I hadn't played on clay yet. After all, I can be satisfied: I couldn't win in two sets, but I still achieved the goal of getting through the first round ”. For the first time in his career, Alcarazn plays a Challenger as number 1 in the draw. “I try to ignore it and focus on the game. I am aware that I have to improve a lot to reach the top of the circuit: only by concentrating game after game will I be able to enjoy it ”, he said.

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