In his third round duel against Grigor Dimitrov (31), Carlos Alcaraz (19) takes four games to do his things, so uneven is that duel (the Murcian prevails 6-2 and 7-5 in 54 minutes).
Dimitrov offers little resistance, does no damage from the bottom of the court, does not resist long exchanges and makes wrong decisions.
Broadly speaking, Alcaraz does not need to show off.
He has plenty of rhythm and tension, he has won three of the five tournaments he has played in this 2023 (Buenos Aires, Indian Wells and Godó in Barcelona) and on the court he moves like a cat, fast in lateral movements, always intuitive.
There is hardly any debate on the court, and Dimitrov has delivered the serve in the first game, and even so Alcaraz decides to like himself: he throws a drop shot and then a Gillette (he lifts a backhand that stops in the air), and the Madrid public is agitated , hyper excited.
Their 2022 champion is a bull.
Your teenager is a gift.
The ball bounces a lot in Madrid, and that displeased Rafael Nadal – he's still out of play, we'll see if the man from Manacor reaches Roland Garros – and it torments Dimitrov, who doesn't give a right hand.
In a flash the first set flies, and the Bulgarian goes to the locker room, intends to reset. He had done great things in the past, for example in 2017, when he won the masters tournament and stood out as the third racket in the world.
Today, Baby Federer (that's what they called him: his elegant one-handed backhand was applauded) is 32nd on the ATP circuit and does not shoot, victim of recurring injuries (in Barcelona, ten days ago, he had to retire) and drops of tension that have led him to compromise against lesser players like Bublik, Kubler or Lehecka.
Even swimming against the current, Dimitrov does not give up, and when he returns from the locker room he is another, more playful and accurate, and his rush leads him to break Alcaraz's serve (he is up 2-4) and demands the Murcian, who also puts on his part and recovers the break instantly and accelerates towards the end, ending which he dispatches with an ace and a dropshot.
He is already in the round of 16, where Sasha Zverev awaits him.
