A script that Hitchcock could have written

The impact caused by Carlitos Alcaraz’s breakthrough into the professional tennis world by winning the 2022 US Open at the age of 19 was similar to Roger Federer’s breakthrough when he won Wimbledon in 2003. At the time, Alcaraz was only two months old, and Roger was about to turn 22 a few months later and be number 1 in the world.

The speed of his movements, his reactions, the variety of his game, the strength and technique of the Spaniard reawakened the interest in ostentatious, complete tennis, something that was disappearing among the minutiae of modern, monotonous tennis, based on strength and fitness.

In the early years, Roger Federer was superior to the others, and in the period up to 2008, when Rafa Nadal beat him at Wimbledon and Novak Djokovic won the Australian Open, the Swiss won 12 of his 20 grand slams.

Rafael Nadal was his enemy for several years, and their rivalry delighted spectators and journalists. However, the Serb, during the time when the three of them competed, and especially from 2011 to the present, gets 21 Grand Slam equaling Rafael Nadal’s record of 22 tournaments.

Carlos Alcaraz arrived at Roland Garros as world number 1 at only 20 years old. The pressure of the favorites, winning the tournament in the absence of Rafael Nadal -a player who won it 14 times- something almost impossible to compare, and also try to eliminate the shadow of Djokovic, the only survivor of big 3It was an extremely stressful situation both physically and emotionally.

The Đoković-Alcaraz semi-final had all the prerequisites to be the most anticipated match of the year. Nadal’s worthy successor and current world number 1 could stop the Serb and thus help his compatriot maintain his record of 22 matches Grand Slam. Alcaraz represented youth against experience, the future against the present, flashy tennis against the efficiency of a machine, an adolescent mind with a cheerful attitude (the joy of playing) against an iron mind and concentration.

It was an expected moment, a moment of transition and the public, something so influential and necessary, was in favor of the Spaniards. However, Novak Djokovic, a player who intimidates opponents with his statistics and push to become the player with the most Grand Slam wins in the entire history of tennis, took to the court to defend his throne.

Novak showed his claws at the beginning of the match, He used Carlitos’ strong game for a better counter, surprised and made the Spaniard doubt. The tension between points was palpable and Alcaraz’s anxiety led him to make numerous mistakes in the final exchanges. The diversity of Đoković’s serve, changes in speed and height, his plasticity in moving around the court and his sublime interpretation of how to play against the Spaniard made him a difficult obstacle that was difficult to overcome, mentally overcoming Carlitos and winning the first set (6-3).

Alcaraz is still tense, but the second set is a titanic battle. The Spaniard wins an anecdotal point by scoring a passing shot impossible to run back and the set becomes a battle of equals. The Serb asks for time to be seen by a physiotherapist, showing concern. The Spaniard celebrates when he breaks Novak’s serve to win the eighth game and go up 5-3 on his serve to close out the set.

In the world of tennis, and even more so on fast courts, there is a sentence that is like a warning: “A brake is not a brake until you hold the serve”. In other words, “you don’t break serve until you win yours” and that law became a reality when Novak, currently the best serve returner, won that game, and went 0-40 in the second to tie the game at 5. Alcaraz felt the blow, but in in an intense game with the Serb’s chance for another break, he managed to succeed with that champion’s instinct for survival and broke Novak the next time and won the second set 7-5.

The Serb felt the effort and in order to break the rhythm and take a breath full of doubts, he went to the dressing room: “I didn’t feel good at the end of that set”, said the Serb afterwards.

Carlitos, in my opinion, was up to the challenge and playing three hours less than the Serb during the tournament, he was on his way to the final victory.

But, as in a Hitchcock film with an unpredictable ending, one spasm, as unexpected as it was decisive, extinguished the Spaniard’s hope. Carlitos, when nothing gave him a hint, was heavy, convulsive, after the rematch, he was tied in the third set. At that moment, the match scenario evaporated, the meaning of the game was not argued, and the senselessness of the continuation was reflected in the result. Carlitos lost ten games in a row, winning the match of honor losing 5-0 in the fourth set.

At the press conference, faced with the surprise of his statement, Carlitos admitted: “What happened today is mental, I entered the most tense match on the account, I didn’t know how to relax… It’s not easy to play against Novak. “Whoever says that he goes in to play without nerves against Novak is lying.” His words are worth analyzing and reflect the innocence of spontaneity rather than the usual speech of champions who have learned the script of proper speech.

With an unusual smile, Wonderkind publicly admitted the stress he experienced facing Djokovic, but with the words “play Novak” instead of playing Novak.

Playing tennis is his essence, smiling and pleasing the audience with his expression is his Latino spirit. Surplus is in his diamond soul and every step is a learning experience. What is victory?

joker he survived the storm of disrespect, that uncontrolled youth that defies and bullies his dreams. The Serbian is in his seventh Roland Garros final, on the verge of realizing his ambition to be the player with the most titles and the only one who can win at least three times each of the four tournaments that make up the Grand Slam.. The Serbian will try to become the all-time winningest player this Sunday in Paris. Novak’s statistics are undeniable.

However, in 2021, when he only had to beat the Russian Daniil Medvedev in the final of the US Open and achieve what no one has been able to do since 1969 – when Rod Laver won his second Golden Grand Slam – win the big four in the same year: Australia, Roland Garros , Wimbledon and the US Open, Serbian glory slipped into his hands.

In the final on the center court of Roland Garros, his opponent is a Norwegian Casper Ruud arrives quietly and plays very well to his third Grand Slam final. The Nordic, a nice, gentlemanly and warm-hearted player, was already in that situation, losing in the same stadium as Philipe Chartrier, last year, with Rafael Nadal. The Serbian is not Nadal on clay courts, he lost in four finals out of six. Can Casper Ruud beat Novak Djokovic? Anything is possible in The Twilight Zone, but only Hitchcock knows the outcome.