Carlos Alcaraz beaten by Sebastian Korda in Monte-Carlo for his entry into the running

In the disjointed genre, the match between Carlos Alcaraz and Sebastian Korda landed there. Disturbed by the wind which was blowing terribly on the Central of Monte-Carlo, the meeting took more than three hours and many twists and turns to settle. It was finally the American who got the better of the Spaniard (7-6 [2]6-7 [5], 6-3). Titled at 18 in Miami ten days ago and highly anticipated for this arrival of the circuit on earth, Alcaraz was not at the level he had shown in Florida. With thirteen breaks in all, 107 unforced errors (59 for Korda, 48 for Alcaraz) and shovelfuls of missed opportunities, it is difficult to find a common thread in this duel of the new generation. They showed just about everything, from dubious choices to very good sequences like these two consecutive passing passes by the American in the middle of the third set. His merit was undoubtedly to take a little more initiative in the game than his opponent, who had difficulty in measuring his aggressiveness. Korda in success at the net Korda thus went up to the net a lot, with enormous success since he scored 34 points on his 44 climbs made during the meeting. He also knew how to be more decisive than the Spaniard who had made his management of crucial points a real strong point in Miami. There, he converted “only” six of his 19 break opportunities when Korda found the target almost every time (7/10 including a 5/5 to start the game). He also blanked out three first set points in the second act but eventually managed to dominate the tiebreak to return to one innings everywhere. When he made the break in stride, the protege of Juan Carlos Ferrero seemed well on his way to concluding the meeting but he ultimately scored only one of the last seven games played. By giving up his break in advance first, on a double fault then a backhand jumped outside the limits of the court. Then by putting his back to the wall on a woody forehand which once again offered his service to Korda. The American started by spoiling his first match point on his own, but on the second, he served a nice first which put an end to this fierce and uncertain duel. He will face either Marin Cilic or Taylor Fritz in the next round. Alcaraz will take advantage of the next few days to digest this return to earth and settle better on the surface. He has already shown that he learns very quickly.