Alcaraz in the final in Miami: beaten Hurkacz

It seems that fate has chosen Miami for the confirmation in the elite of world tennis of Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard’s tale continues and with the victory in two tie-breaks (7-5 ​​the first and 7-2 the second) over reigning champion Hubert Hurkacz, Alcaraz made sure to play the title match against the Norwegian on Sunday Casper Ruud. “I have an avalanche of emotions – said the 18-year-old Spaniard – right now. It is something you dream of as a child and that comes true. It is nice to know that I am in the final in Miami. I love playing in this city, on these fields and in this stadium. Here the audience is fantastic. I will try to repeat myself in the final, thinking of playing any first round and masking my nerves. I’m sure I will have fun and it will be a great final “.

The match

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Against Hurkacz, champion in 2021 on our Sinner, Alcaraz played a careful and decisive game with very few points. None of the contenders managed to snatch the joke from the opponent. Both saved 3 break points each: in the first set the first was saved by Alcaraz who would have sent Hurkacz to serve at 5-3, then two saved the Pole on 5 all. In the second set a missed ball by Alcaraz for the 2-0 and two misses by Hurkacz to go and serve at 6-5. And so, as had happened in the match against Kecmanovic, Alcaraz slipped the turbo from under 3-5 at the tie-break of the first set and then in that of the second set in which he first flew to 4-1, then 5-2 and finally 7-2. “I thought – the Spaniard said – that we would play a lot of tie-breaks and so it was because I couldn’t respond. His serve is really devastating.” In the end, Hurkacz finished with 13 aces in 12 batting rounds, no double faults and 81% first serve points. But in the end it was the Spaniard who had a more than positive balance between winners and free players (24 to 11) against the negative balance of the Pole (27 to 28).

Already number 12

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With the points gained with the placement in the final Alcaraz virtually rises to number 12 in the ATP ranking just a few points behind Jannik Sinner. If the Spaniard wins the title, he overtakes the South Tyrolean and by only 29 points he misses the entry into the top 10. Alcaraz is the second youngest finalist in the history of Miami after Nadal who lost the 2005 final against Federer and could become the third. youngest Masters 1000 champion after Chang who won in Toronto in 1990 and Nadal first in Monte Carlo in 2005.