In his last match, a month ago, Carlos Alcaraz beat Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final. As nothing is given in modern tennis, the world number one had all the trouble in the world to get rid of the tireless and impetuous Ben Shelton.
The result of 6-3 and 7-6 (3) is a poor indication of how Alcaraz’s entrance really went.
“He wouldn’t let me play my style of play,” Alcaraz said after the game.
Usually, the first matches of the top seeds are quite routine. However, in the case of the Spaniard, he was dealing with a young left-hander in full progression. Landed in the top 100 at the end of last season after a stint in the NCAA with the University of Florida, Shelton is a powerful player capable of fantasy, but, above all, extremely sure of himself.
The 20-year-old has never been intimidated. Alcaraz and he even laughed a few times, in addition to confirming several times certain balls judged outside, by fair play. Even if this meeting was disputed on the central court, it looked like a match without stake, between two friends, in the park of the district.
Of course, the game had an otherwise important meaning. If Shelton understood it quickly, Alcaraz took a long time to get going.
“It’s not very nice to start a tournament against him,” laughed the first seed. I had difficulty finding my rhythm. And it’s important to have long rallies early in the tournament, but today was a different battle. »
His first serving game lasted over eight minutes. This entry streak first proved that Shelton had what it takes to compete with his opponent. Then that the evening could become long and demanding if Alcaraz did not return to its usual caliber.
In fact, the 21-year-old was bothered all night on his first serve. Although at times it felt like being in Madrid or Barcelona given the amount of Spanish flags and ¡Vamos, Carlos!, Alcaraz was never really able to settle in and impose his rhythm.
This observation has a lot to do with his troubles in the service. His second serving streak was just as complex as the first, requiring another deuce.
However, Alcaraz hadn’t played in four weeks, he was taming Toronto’s hard court and he was playing against an opponent who had sounded on a mission to spoil the party by becoming the star of it.
He arrived all smiles on the center court. The curly youngster with the teasing look really gave the impression that he was entering the pitch to have fun first and foremost.
With its big red towel and its long chain around its neck, the 41st racket in the world defeated all the prejudices that could have crossed the minds of some 12,000 spectators.
From his first streak in service, he fired missiles at 215 and 218 km/h. In the stands, murmurs and surprised looks. His strikes even climbed around 230 km / h during the meeting. With her arching serve, Shelton caused a stir.
“I’ve never played against someone who hit the ball that hard. This is completely crazy ! “said the winner. He even added that the string of his racquet even almost broke.
The Spaniard showed signs of impatience at the start of the second run. A rare thing for someone who has not lost any entry match this season.
A quarter-finalist at the Australian Open, Shelton outshot his opponent in aces, game winners and unforced errors.
“I think he will be on the circuit for a very long time. We haven’t played against each other often, but he is very attacking. »
If Alcaraz manages to win the tournament, or go a long way, because he has found his rhythm quickly, he can thank Ben Shelton.