Miami Tennis: Dimitrov eliminates Alcaraz

Now the sinner can truly believe it. His main rival, Carlos Alcaraz, unexpectedly lost in two sets in the quarterfinals of the ATP Tour in Miami to Grigor Dimitrov and Yannik, who is waiting to play the semi-finals of the tournament against Daniil Medvedev, has a huge opportunity ahead of him. Not only did the Blue avoid the possibility of facing his most dangerous rival in the final, the Spaniard who was strangely imprecise and volatile yesterday, but the fall of Carlos gave him the opportunity to try to attack again the number 2 now occupied by his friend. -Enemy: If he wins this tournament, for Sinner, who is now ranked third in the world, the mathematically unsuccessful overtaking will come in Indian Wells. He still has to see the job through to the end here in Florida – and he still has a rock ahead of him like the Russian – but he still has Gregor's pure talent to thank in one of the best editions of recent years. The Bulgarian literally pummeled his rival, 12 years his junior, for long periods of time, while Mike Tyson himself watched in the audience. On the contrary, Carlos's team showed physical and nervous deterioration: they did not return to the match until the second half of the second set, when it was too late.

the match

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In a first set in which the Bulgarian No.12 played to his right from the start, taking risks every time he had the opportunity and never backing down in the face of the Spaniard's power, the initial break achieved was already decisive in the first set. The second game. Carlos puts his best foot forward, struggling for fuel and showing little haste in his execution, but perhaps he is only surprised by the aggression of Gregor whose tennis really shows in its purity, between the delicious and rare volleys. Delivered backhands.beauty. Dimitrov led 5-2, then broke Carlos again and won the set in clear, surprising but certainly deserved fashion. In the second set, Alcaraz began talking excitedly with his corner: “I can't play like this…” he told coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, the man who always gets him back on track in moments of difficulty. The latter, for example, to return in the Indian Wells semifinal against Sinner. But the pressure on the Murcian's shoulders begins to become strong, and the desire to shorten the exchange sometimes pushes him to exaggerate and concede too much, as in the fourth game: a double fault and an incorrect short ball from the Murcian, then a forehand hit in response to the Bulgarian science fiction lead to a new break. At 4-1, Gregor also has a chance to increase the lead, but one step away from heaven, he wastes a break point on the Spaniard and at that point everything seems to have changed. In the next match, Alcaraz became a phenomenon again and rebelled against defeat, putting winners who had never been on the court before: serving the counter and the match resumed by the skin of its teeth until 4-4. Having regained the advantage, Dimitrov suffered two match points on Carlos' serve: on the first shot, the Bulgarian hit the mark, scoring the tournament feat.