Carlos Alcaraz’s first great adventure at Roland Garros is over. With just 18 years of age, the Murcian tennis player said goodbye to the tournament in the third round after falling (6-4, 7-4, 6-2) to a great Jan-Lennard Struff, Andrey Rublev’s first round executioner. Alcaraz fought the unspeakable against a superior rival in ranking, experience and even inspiration, and left satisfied and making it clear that, in his case and in the relationship with Paris, the best is yet to come.
After a negative start, in which his deficiencies in service weighed, Alcaraz reacted to cut the gap with an indomitable Struff. The German penalized the youth of the Murcian, who will perfect the serve as the months go by, and Carlos’s break was inert so that the first set remained in his hands. The German, sober, solid and striking, took the sleeve 6-4.
Carlos had to go one step further and he did, to the delight of the fans present on the first Saturday at Roland Garros. Under the cloud cover that haunted Paris, Alcaraz represented the clearings and the new sap of the circuit. He, Musetti or Sinner are what the circuit needs in the form of a new next gen, and although eliminated before the others, the third round of the Spaniard, the youngest of the three, does more than good his participation in the second Grand. Slam of the season.
Alcaraz withstood Struff’s onslaught until the second set tie break, but once there the experience of the Teuton, already a veteran, became good for scoring the second set. From there, there was not much game, but there was time for Carlos to leave details of an indisputable quality and that, six games later, he says goodbye to his first Roland Garros among the majors in the final draw.
