The physicist punishes Alcaraz in the Rio final – Spain’s News

In step and with a limp that he could not hide, Alcaraz could not beat Norrie in the final in Rio de Janeiro. A week after the title in Buenos Aires and against the same rival, Carlitos suffered physical torture from the middle of the second set until the end of the match. The Spaniard and his physical problems gave up 5-7, 6-4 and 7-5 in two hours and 42 minutes.

Norrie’s gesture at the break after the eleventh game was revealing of where the final was going to go. Sitting down, he finished one of the bottles he had on hand and tossed it reluctantly. The sign of weakness had not fully transferred to the track, but there were sufficient indications that neither of the two finalists was in their best physical condition. Now here near. The beatings experienced against Jarry and Zapata marked a match in which Carlitos and the British had enough to suffer. Alcaraz felt somewhat more at ease as the first set progressed. He saved Norrie’s only break point in the fifth game and needed several chances to close out the opener. He did it by being true to his style. The two chances he earned to take the set came after a drop shot. There were no lengthy back and forth exchanges. Everything was strange. Even the resolution of the first sleeve. Norrie went to the net with a second serve and the Spaniard beat him with a parallel two-handed backhand to confirm that at least he seemed, just seemed, a little less exhausted than the British.

To add to the weight of Norrie’s backpack, Alcaraz was able to lift two break points on the first serve of the second set. The party headed in only one direction. Carlitos managed a break at the first opportunity, added his next blank serve and in the break Norrie began to look for the white flag. The distance was not great, but in Norrie’s racket there was neither tennis nor energy to prolong the discussion. Or so it seemed because with 3-0 against and 0-30, he was resurrected. And how. He chained four games in a row and Alcaraz offered a disturbing symptom trying to shorten the points as much as possible. Alarm! He requested the presence of the physio to treat his right leg. He reactivated out of a matter of sheer survival. It was about avoiding a third set at any cost. The suicidal strategy could not work. At the next break he returned to the physio to apply a cumbersome bandage to the upper part of his right leg. In the last two games of the set, Carlitos did not compete. He did not force to reach some balls and from the dying Norrie he passed to a weighted and walking Alcaraz.

The final did not follow any logic. It was only marked by the physical state of both. The Spaniard could not change the plans with which the previous set ended. The less the ball was in play, the better. Sticks to trim the points as much as possible. And so he came to be a break ahead at the start. In the fourth game he took off his bandage, but he kept playing walk. And yet he continued to find winners moving as if he were in a tournament of veterans of the development of the day. He survived until the five of a kind. At that point and almost crawling he had to give up.

Acapulco?

After the South American clay court tour, the circuit returns to the fast track with the Mexican Open, an ATP 500 tournament in which Alcaraz is initially registered as the first seed. Carlitos competed in Acapulco in 2022. He was a rookie, he was far from the best and fell in the first round to Alexander Zverev, who was proclaimed champion. In theory, the number two in the world should debut on Tuesday against the American Mackenzie McDonald, but… Alcaraz has played nine games in twelve days, ended up that way in Rio and maybe he will give up competing in the Mexican Pacific. And it is that the following week he starts Indian Wells and that is a must. The other big tournament of the week is held in Dubai and Djokovic will return there.