One of lime and the other of sand for the Spaniards on the day of the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 in Toronto because the Murcian and the Andalusian had different outcomes. In fact, they were poles apart. Alcaraz, uncomfortable and blocked, gave way again to Tommy Paul (17th ranked) and Davidovich, smiling and calm, got rid of Mcdonald (59th in the ranking). The man from Malaga easily slips into the semifinals while the number one fades between shouts and reproaches. It seemed that the roles had been exchanged because never before had Alcaraz been seen so pissed off and Davidovich so calm. The man from Malaga stands in his first semifinals of a hard court Masters 1000 where Alex de Minaur awaits him (this Saturday, not before 8:30 p.m. on Movistar +) and the man from El Palmar heads to Cincinnati to confirm his status as number one at the US Open.
Alcaraz could no longer avoid defeat after walking through the abyss against Hurkacz last night. Out of tune and with bad feelings again from the start, as if he didn’t quite feel the ball, the Spaniard lost his serve in the first game and the scene of the first two games was repeated again. This time before a Tommy Paul fast as a cat, occupying the entire track and getting inside her while he spun more and more finely with his drive. The American liked the Spanish’s discomfort, which he only shook his head. After a double fault from number one, Paul took the first set 6-3 in 41 minutes to the frustration of Carlitos who threw the racket against his bench, desperate without fully understanding what was happening.
“Carlos, you can’t miss this!”
The Spaniard who was overwhelmed could not attack for a moment, he could not find any solution until he exploded in a way never seen before: “I can’t, I can’t, I just can’t!” can have so little feelingIt’s just amazing!” she recriminated herself loudly. His bench, incredulous, did not know what to respond to such a negative spiral while Paul watched, as if he were a supporting actor, the self-destruction of number one.
The Toronto stands grew cold when seeing such an unknown version of the Murcian until, suddenly and when no one expected it, he pulled off one of his tricks: he got a winner hitting below the legs and caused the roar of the people. Carlitos, for the first time in the entire game, laughed, and raised his arm with a gesture more of apology, for the level shown by him, than of celebration. No one could have expected that turn of events, the face of the Spaniard changed and that wounded pride, that internal epic returned, for the umpteenth time, to come out on stage. He broke Paul’s serve and inexplicably Alcaraz, yes, once again, took the 2nd set 6-4.
The match entered a new dimension and the forces were evened out with a relieved Carlitos, but Paul, who continued with a fixed gear, was not intimidated by the change in attitude of the Murcian and broke his serve to stand at 5-2. For the third time this week, and on the most difficult night, the man from El Palmar had no other option but to fight again. However, there was no more epic left in the number one racket and, as happened last year, the American had a match where the Spanish’s emotions collapsed.
Carlos Alcaraz is leaving Toronto who never quite felt comfortable on his journey through Canada. Although he will not have much time to lament because next week he will have to perform in Cincinnati with a rested Novak Djokovic back. There he will have another chance to secure number one for his US Open defense.
Davidovich: more zen than ever
Quite the opposite occurred at noon in Toronto, where a new Davidovich walked around center court who, after the Wimbledon debacle, entered the penultimate round in Canada with a calm and inhospitable mentality in a player who has always been volcanic and irregular. He enjoyed the man from Malaga who was solid and stable beating the American Mcdonald, 6-4 and 6-2 in 1 hour and 36 minutes. Something has changed in Alejandro because when darkness hung over him, after that serve with 8-8 in the super tie break against Rune at Wimbledon, the man from Malaga appeared in Canada with a new aura. His facial expression on the court says it all and his results show it: before defeating Mcdonald he gave Wolf no chance in the first round (6-0 and 6-2), he swept Zverev in the second (6-1 and 6-2) and resisted against Ruud in the round of 16 (7-6(4), 4-6 and 7-6(4)).
“I want to smile more and more, because when I smile I feel like my game is flowing through my body. If I’m happy, my game works. If I’m angry, I can’t win a point”, declared the Spaniard, although for ‘Foki’ the change has occurred off the track: “Good routines and good habits are the most important thing. I used to spend my free time on social networks, and I realized that I was wasting a lot of time. I started reading this summer.”
Davidovich enters his first semifinals of 2023 and secures the top seed in New York after moving up to 23rd in the standings, the best position of his career. In addition to presenting his title bid, he is looking for redemption and maintaining the stability shown throughout the week in Toronto. The man from Malaga, with his new smile, will have the opportunity to show that his change of mentality can lead him, once again, to a Masters 1000 final.
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