Alcaraz vence a Shapovalov y avanza a octavos

The Spanish tennis player, Carlos Alcaraz, advanced to the 16th round of Indian Wells (United States), the first 1000 Masters of the season, and played on a tough path, defeating Canadian Denis Shapalov in two sets, 6-2, 6-4 in less than an hour and a half.

The player from Murcia, winner of the last two editions during the event held in California, extended his winning streak to 14, after passing his first test with flying colors and sensations to try to win a new title and equal what Swiss Roger Federer and Serbian Novak achieved, who hoisted this trophy.

Alcaraz was up against a always dangerous Shapovalov on this type of surface, coming from a good American tournament with a victory in Dallas (United States) and reaching the semifinals in Acapulco (Mexico), but did not offer any chances despite a somewhat irregular day.

He ended the match with five unforced errors, taking advantage of the fact that the Canadian’s left hand was not effective with this weapon and accumulating three more, leaving too many opportunities for the world number three, especially on the second serve, and giving away twice as many double faults (8) as the Spaniard.

Additionally, he started very strong and quickly established a commanding 5-0 lead on the scoreboard, although he had to face a brief comeback during the match. Two more games ended to give his American opponent his first game, but the winner of four «Grand Slams» did not hesitate to close out the first set.

From there, both players significantly improved their service reliability. This helped Shapovalov stay in the match, although the defending champion did not offer many opportunities to break. The Canadian managed to win the sixth game, and then Alcaraz did not miss the chance at 15-40 to break and take advantage that secured his ticket to the next round, where he will face Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (United States) in 2024.

«I knew that Denis started the season very strong, showing very good tennis in Dallas and playing well in Acapulco, so I knew I had to start the match very strong, very focused on my game,» Alcaraz said in his interview.

The world number three tried to «play good tennis, with good exchanges from the beginning, just to get a good rhythm and get into the game.» «I saw that it would be a very good and difficult match, so I am very pleased with how I started the match,» he emphasized.

Alcaraz also acknowledged that there was no «sensation of nerves, as in the first round.» «Today I was more relaxed, calmer, so I managed to think much better. I believe all players have nerves at the start of the match, so I think I did quite well today and in the first round, and I hope to continue that way,» he pointed out.

FUENTE