After Lenk's two "giants" Nadal and Djokovic, he cut down the world's third-place Zverev, which was done by a teenager who had just turned 19? It really is.
In the early morning of May 9, Beijing time, the dust of the 2022 ATP1000 Madrid Masters was settled, and Spanish rising star Alcaraz not only lifted the second Masters trophy of his career, but also created a series of records. Inadvertently, the fledgling he stirred up the world of men's tennis, and his future is worth any imagination of tennis fans.
The 19-year-old genius shocked the tennis world
After the final of the Madrid Masters, the whole world looked up to Alcaraz because there was a shock that could not be repeated.
Incredible first of all, starting with the quarter-finals, not only because of the result of his 2-1 victory over Nadal on clay, but also because Alcaraz fell to his right ankle in the game, and in the huge adversity of extremely obstructed movement, he did not choose to retire, but continued to be a fighter, and he could beat Nadal 6-3 in the decider, and had to lament the young man's ability to "return blood".
Less than 24 hours later, Alcaraz and another giant, Djokovic, staged an offensive and defensive battle in the semi-finals. The two sides played three sets, two of which dragged into the seventh, especially in the battle for breaks, the two sides did not give in, Alcaraz was forced out of 6 break points by Xiaode, and saved 5 of them. Djokovic, on the other hand, faced 10 break points and saved 8 of them, no less exciting than the Grand Slam finals. So much so that when asked after the game where he won, Alcaraz didn't know how to answer for a while: "I don't know where the two of us are, the game is too close." ”
After this battle, the world tennis world was fried, and Alcaraz became the first player in history to beat Nadal and Djokovic in clay competitions, making the legend of the two "20+" Grand Slam champions the narrative background in his growth story.
Soon, Zverev, who is now the third in the world, also joined the background. Compared with the three-set match between Nadal and Djokovic, Alcaraz in the final destroyed Zverev's fighting spirit in a crushing state, and the "popular fried chicken" in the tennis world sat down.
Every defeated giant is describing the shock that Alcaraz brought him. Nadal said: "He is good enough to beat any player in the world. Djokovic said after losing three sets: "His shot was very strong, which made it difficult for me to cope, it was difficult to play a good serve, a player of his age, both calm and courageous." ”
At the award ceremony after the final, the loser Zverev poured champagne on the "new king", which is extremely rare in the tennis world.
Former world first carefully polished version of "Nadal"
Alcaraz, who idolized Nadal and considered himself to play like Federer, conquered more and more fans. Because in Alcaraz's body, the shadow of the big three flashed naturally. 'His play was like a bolt of lightning, with Agassi's ball speed and Rafa's movements, and it's impossible to imagine what he'll look like in two years' time." Anakon, former Federer coach and current Fritz coach, exclaimed.
At least for now, Alcaraz, who has great strength and big heart, is definitely a popular candidate for the next generation of kings. The rising star owes his rise to his father, a businessman and his current coach, former world number one Ferrero.
Born in Murcia, southwestern Spain in 2003, Alcaraz's father Carlos picked up a tennis racket inspired by Manuel Santana, Spain's first Wimbledon men's singles champion, and although he was one of the most promising players in Spain at the time, Carlos chose to hang the racket at the age of 20 and became a club's tennis coach and manager.
As the second son of four sons, Alcaraz carried the family's hopes for professional tennis. By the age of 3, he was able to play against the wall with a small racket at the local tennis club and enjoyed it. However, his family still cannot afford to travel and train little Aka. Fortunately, when Alcaraz was 10 years old, he was supported by a friend from his hometown who funded more than 2,000 euros to let him go to Croatia to participate in the junior championship, and although Alcaraz lost in the final, the businessman said that he was happy to continue to provide financial assistance.
As Alcaraz made his debut in youth tennis, the famous brokerage firm IMG took notice of the Spanish talented teenager and quickly incorporated it into its umbrella, through the agent, Alcaraz hired Ferrero as a coach in 2018. On weekdays, Alcaraz practices at Ferrero's tennis academy from Monday to Friday, and returns home on weekends.
Off the field, Alcaraz is an easy-going, even somewhat cute boy. But on the sword-rattling court, he transforms into a wild leopard and will not let go once he bites his prey. 'The top players all have personalities, play against the top guys on the biggest stadium in the world, and if you don't have personality, you're going to be swallowed up." Ferrero, a former world number one, said that in order to build disciples, he put strength and physical training in the first place. So Alcaraz, like Nadal, has an extremely developed muscle group and is tough and brutal.
Vowed to win the French Open
Youth is Alcaraz's biggest asset, and he has achieved the "Fernard Big Three" of his age group. Alcaraz, for example, has won 50 games in just 70 tour games, surpassing Djokovic's 79, Nadal's 81 and Federer's 97. This season he finished with 28 wins and 3 losses, ranking first in men's tennis.
However, Alcaraz has only won two Masters titles so far, and the new representatives behind him, Tsitsipas, Thiem, Medvedev, Zverev and others have all defeated the giants in major events such as the ATP Masters or grand slams, saying that it is too early to say that he has succeeded the "big three", and he can only be regarded as a first-class player in the world's top ten, but this does not prevent the outside world from expecting him.
The reason why the outside world has now held Alcaraz to such a high level is mainly that there has not been a person in the men's tennis world for a long time who can really shake the giants, but Alcaraz has defeated Nadal and Djokovic in Madrid, making people think that he may be the "chosen son" that everyone has been looking for.
The time for the real "inspection" is coming, the 2022 French Open will start in Paris on May 16, the only clay event in the four Grand Slams Since 2005, Nadal has won 13 titles, and last year's French Open was won by Djokovic, who are still popular candidates to win this year. Alcaraz's previous best time at a Grand Slam tournament was the 2021 US Open Quarterfinals, and his best record at the French Open was reaching the third round in 2021. But his goal this year clearly doesn't stop there, with Alcaraz saying he has withdrawn from this week's Masters in Rome and will go all out into the French Open. He said: "I'm ready to win a Grand Slam, that's my goal for the season and I'll put in the effort to see what happens to Roland Garros. ”
Text/Qiu Ye
Photo: Xinhua News Agency