Tennis, Alcaraz better than Nadal: enters the top 20 at 18 years and 9 months

With a performance on the verge of perfection, the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz won the Atp 500 title in Rio de Janeiro by overcoming the Argentine Diego Schwartzman 6-4 6-2 in the final in just 86 minutes of play. A success that allows Alcaraz, who is 18 years and 9 months old, to enter for the first time in his career among the top 20 players in the world and to improve when done by Nadal back in 2005 when the Majorcan accomplished the same feat at the age of 18. and 10 months. Alcaraz is the 14th youngest top 20 in history after Krickstein (16 years and 11 months), Chang, Borg, Becker, Wilander, Agassi, Perez Roldan, Edberg, Arias, Andrei Medvedev, Sampras, McEnroe and Carlsson.

The match

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The first to break is Schwarzman who starts more decisively, makes better use of the service-straight combination and moves forward 2-0. But it is a flash in the pan, the Spaniard immediately operates the counter break, responding blow by blow to the accelerations of the Argentine. Alcaraz seems to have something more and he proves it in the ninth game by going to the net to catch a precious short ball with a delicate forehand stop volley and then transforming it with a fine short ball. When the Spaniard goes to serve for the 5-4 forward set, Alacaraz plays a spectacular game full of winners. The set ends for the Iberian teenager with 13 winners, just 4 free mistakes and 5 short balls all winning. Alcaraz continues at the same pace in the first game of the second set by placing the second consecutive break. But this time it is he who has to return it. The Argentine, however, does not have the same heaviness of the ball as Alcaraz, suffers the third consecutive break and the Spaniard flies ahead 3-1 confirming the advantage with a very solid bat. Alcaraz flies up to 5-1, arrives within two points of success, then sinks the backhand and postpones the final sprint to the next game. The exuberance and power of Alcaraz are irrepressible, the Spaniard gets two match points, but the first is enough: the Argentine’s response goes out and the Spaniard ends in triumph.

Triumph

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Alcaraz won the most important title of his young career by winning four matches in just over 40 hours due to the rain: in succession he beat Delbonis, Berrettini, Fognini and now Schwartzman. For Alcaraz it is the second title of his career after the victory in Umag in the summer of 2021 in the final over Richard Gasquet. For Schwartzman instead the tenth final lost out of fourteen disputed.