It is four in the morning and Carlos Alcaraz, beaten by Ben Shelton in the US Open quarterfinals, is surrounded by about fifty journalists in one of the Arthur Ashe tunnels. There are running footsteps and shadows, a crowd of heads, and the members of his team listen from a discreet second row: his agent, his coach Samuel López, his brother Álvaro. The match ended just twenty minutes earlier and in the tennis player’s hand, without having showered yet, remain sticky traces of the overgrip — the adhesive tape that covers the racket handle — and magnesium. Two relatives of the opponent try to pass, but must correct their step. And the Murcian speaks with his body worn out, but deeply satisfied.
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“As I said before the tournament started, my goal was to go out and compete, play this type of match [five sets] and do it while healthy. I was very close. I’m not disappointed for not having won. I’m happy and proud of myself, of how I fought. After the third set I was very tired, but I found a way to push myself a little more and give an extra physically,” he recounts; “in the fifth I started to feel better and better, but I was playing against one of those players who is a beast. Shelton is an incredible player, very powerful. He knew how to play really well in all situations, so all the credit is his. But I leave the court happy. I leave with a smile and healthy, and that’s what I needed.”
Alcaraz set foot in New York more than two weeks ago — he trained for the first time on the 23rd — with a primary goal: to return, compete, feel like a tennis player again. So once that was achieved, everything else would be a happy addition. He had been away from competition for four and a half months and he, like every elite athlete, longed for the adrenaline that only being on the court grants. It was basically about going step by step and, he emphasizes, the goal has been met. More than enough. The joint reacted positively to the maximum demand. From there, everything meant adding up.
“We leave happy, with our heads held high. We pushed a player who has been playing at a very high pace and level throughout the season, especially on this tour [Shelton triumphed in Canada], to the limit. Obviously, we wanted to win and stay here, but the most important thing was to leave the tournament with matches played, high rhythm and, above all, healthy,” he appreciates.
The draw and schedule presented him with a major challenge. Shelton (23 years old, like him) came in strong and the delays of the previous three matches meant the match was played past eleven at night. In any case, the Spaniard knew how to recover and hold on. He was practically one point away from winning, something that not long ago would have been unthinkable. The first four rounds served as a perfect launchpad and the duel with the American translated into a head-to-head in which the physical factor ended up playing a decisive role. Even so, Alcaraz stayed standing. He fought with everything. He literally emptied himself.
Nuances and upward momentum
At times he seemed knocked out, but at others it felt like once deep into that terminal territory, his experience would benefit him. After all, the one from El Palmar had won 12 consecutive five-set matches, the longest historical sequence; the same one Björn Borg had until John McEnroe clipped his wings at the 1980 US Open.
“Night matches are tough. There is a lot of humidity and the ball becomes big, very difficult to handle, but in the end one has to find a way [to come back]. Shelton played a very complete, very mature match, knowing what he had to do at every moment. Physically he is a beast, it seemed he had no weaknesses,” the tennis player states seriously, who had not played a match of these characteristics (five sets) since January 30, in Australia against Alexander Zverev; “but that’s what we train for and push ourselves to the max every day, to reach these types of moments and find a way to get back into the match. After the third set I leaned on people and tried to cheer myself up and get motivated. And I think we achieved it until the last point.”
“You always push yourself. Once you leave the court, you push yourself even more. I don’t remember exactly how it was going, but I was two points ahead [5-3], with his second serve, and I missed the return… Those are the kinds of things where maybe, if you had played the point, who knows, the perspective of the match might have changed,” he specifies, also emphasizing the opponent’s strength with the serve: “I think at these moments he takes a lot of advantage from his serve. It’s not an excuse, but I would say it’s a very important weapon in these types of situations.”
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In any case, beyond the negative score, Alcaraz returns home with a good feeling. Five matches, four wins, an upward momentum and, above all, the favorable reaction of the wrist. Everything was uncertain upon his arrival and the time in New York clears practically all doubts. He is ready, it’s a matter of rhythm and he conveys optimism. Ahead, two months in which he foresees several incentives. However, there is no stimulus greater for him than the mere fact of competing, “a gift” necessary. “We leave healthy,” he repeats, “and eager to keep improving, to return to the courts and already thinking about the rest of the season. We are eager.”
SEVERE SETBACK IN THE ‘RANKING’
Shelton, the evening’s winner, highlighted that playing against Alcaraz is always “fun” and pointed to the serve as one of the keys — “I was smart in how I approached it” — as well as the final push from a rather divided crowd, which cheered in similar doses for his rival.
“The chants of ‘U-S-A!’ kept me standing,” he said. “God has blessed me to be here,” added the one from Atlanta, who had lost the three previous encounters between them and who on Friday will face his compatriot Frances Tiafoe (12th).
Shelton will do so having made a significant jump in the ranking, at least from ninth to fourth place. That is, immediately behind Alcaraz, third.
Since he could not defend the title, the Spaniard will lose a substantial number of points: 1,600. He currently has 5,560, far from both the second position of Alexander Zverev (more than 2,500 above) and Jannik Sinner (almost 6,000). If Shelton wins the trophy, he would be very close to him.
Now, his plans include participating in the friendly framework of the Laver Cup (from the 25th to the 27th of this month) and later, if nothing goes wrong, he will travel to Asia to play in Tokyo (from September 30 to October 6) and the Shanghai Masters (from the 7th to the 18th).
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