Carlos Alcaraz defeated Marin Cilic at the US Open and progressed to the quarter-finals. Photo: COREY SIPKIN / AFP.
Carlos Alcaraz (4th) qualified in the early hours of this Tuesday for the quarter-finals of the USEOpen, after beating the Croatian in an epic duel Marino Cilic (17th). In this way, the 19-year-old Spaniard keeps his double dream of winning his first Grand Slam and reaching number one of the ATP world rankings.
Despite suffering during some stages of the match, he ultimately beat Cilic 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 4-6 and 6-3 in an exciting confrontation that lasted 3 hours and 54 minutes, and which ended at 2:23 am in New York.
Having equaled the quarter-finals at the United States Open which he obtained in 2021, Alcaraz will face the Italian for the passage to the semifinals Sinner Janniknumber 13 in the world, who defeated Belarusian Ilya Ivashka in five sets.
Carlos Alcaraz, in search of the number one
The defeat of the Russian Daniil Medvedev against the Australian Nick Kyrgios on Sunday evening had left the race to number one with only three contenders: Rafael Nadal, the Norwegian Casper Ruud and Carlos Alcarazwhich if achieved will become the the youngest player to be at the top of the rankings.
Rafa was the only one of that trio who depended on himself. It was enough for him to reach the final to secure the first step of the ranking, which, in fact, he already occupies today in the constantly updated live ranking. But his loss to Tiafoe changed the landscape. Now he will have to see how far his two rivals go in that race.
The scenario is simple. If only one of the two – Alcaraz or Ruud – reaches the final, the one who arrives will be the new number one. If the two reach the decisive point, whoever wins the title will climb to the top. If no one is a finalist, number one will go to the now number three, Nadal, for the first time since January 2020. And the Majorcan will become the the second longest in history to reach it after the Swiss Roger Federer, who did it in June 2020 at 36 years, 10 months and 16 days.
The chronicle of the triumph of Alcaraz against Cilic
Cilic started on the net, getting his first break thanks to a double fault from Alcaraz. That initial fright seemed to wake Alcaraz, who then whipped several right-handed whips to break his rival’s serve.
Accustomed to dominating with the power of his punches, the young man has found in Cilic an opponent with hard rights like his. Then he started running, boasting a broad repertoire and spectacular points: straight forehands, subtle descents and even a fantastic winning comeback with which he added another break for a partial 3-2 lead. In the end, he kept the lead and stayed with the first set.
The second set goes well for the Alcaraz, with a break of service in the first game, but Cilic responds with another break after several mistakes by the Spaniard. The Spaniard made an unusual series of mistakes, while the Croatian, now with enormous confidence in his game and a marked improvement in his serve, led the set to 6-3.
Showing exceptional athleticism and mobility, Alcaraz broke Cilic’s serve when he was leading 5-4 and thus landed another set. But the game did not seem decided, far from it.
In the fourth set, after several failed break attempts by both, the key moment came when Cilic broke Alcaraz’s serve 4-5. The Croatian was strong in the serve and forced a decisive fifth set.
Alcaraz immediately lost his serve, but reacted perfectly by winning the next match. The Spaniard has since been reactivated, while Cilic has shown signs of fatigue.
The Spaniards broke up again and went 3-1. Then, he no longer gave any advantages: he secured his services and won the last set 6-3. He not only won the game, but also the right to continue dreaming in New York.
With information from EFE.
IT
Source: Clarin
