Murcia surprise Carlos Alcaraz Garfia: Please no comparisons with Rafael Nadal!
Local heroes Nicolas Almagro and Carlos Alcaraz Garfia shaped the first half of the week of the first edition of the Murcia Open. While the 33-year-old Almagro will give up his racket after the ATP Challenger tournament endowed with 46,600 euros, the tournament for the only 15-year-old Alcaraz Garfia may have been the starting signal for a promising career.
by Florian Heer from Murcia
last edit: Apr 13, 2019, 11:35 am
Tuesday evening in the southeast of Spain. The ground shook several times on the site of the Murcia Club de Tenis, founded in 1919. The occasion was the last appearance of one of the most successful tennis players in the region. Nicolas Almagro, the former number 9 in the world, said goodbye to the professional tennis circus with a 2-6, 2-6 defeat against his Spanish compatriot Mario Vilella Martinez.
For this, the 13-time ATP tournament winner in his hometown had once again been equipped with a wildcard. In the first round match against number 262 in the world rankings, his first appearance on the tour after a five-month break, Almagro had no chance. After only one hour of play, he hit the yellow felt ball against matchball in the evening sky of Murcia to congratulate his opponent on victory and enjoy the standing ovation of the spectators.
“I was part of an outstanding era in men's tennis. There were some victories, but also many defeats. Some said I could have done more in my career. I gave everything for tennis and got a lot back, ”was an excerpt from Almagro's farewell speech before the tournament.
A new task was quickly found for the man, who had to deal with injuries repeatedly in recent years. As head of the tennis academy of the prestigious La Manga tennis club in Cartagena, Almagro will be able to contribute his expertise in the future.
Alcaraz Garfia delights his home crowd
Carlos Alcaraz Garfia also created an exuberant mood. The teenager, who celebrated his first match success on the ATP Challenger Tour against Italian young star Jannik Sinner at the Ferrero Challenger Open in Villena in the previous week, brought his good shape with him to Murcia, about 90 kilometers south. Alcaraz Garfia initially defeated Frenchman Gleb Sakharov in two sets before taking his biggest win so far on Wednesday night against number 140 in the world, Pedro Martínez Portero.
Particularly striking was the mental strength that emanated from the young Spaniard. Although he was already behind with a break in the second set, he saved himself in the tie break to finally win the match 6: 3, 7: 6 (4). Alcaraz Garfia, who is also supervised by former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero, showed solid foundations and did not shy away from the network. The latter is a special weapon when he goes after intelligently interspersed stop balls, anticipates a possible response from his opponent to counter with a skillfully placed volley.
The end point was in round 3 on Thursday against a German youth hope. Rudolf Molleker stopped the run of the current number 25 in the ITF junior world rankings with a hard-won three-set result.
"I've shown good tennis over the past few days," said Alcaraz Garfia after the defeat by the Spanish media. "However, I still have to learn to deal with my nerves better."
No comparisons with Nadal, please
He also clearly formulates his other goals for the rest of the season. “I want to be among the 10 best juniors. Playing on the Challenger Tour and competing against some of the best cracks is great. I was able to gain a lot of experience and it was really fun. However, my focus is on the junior competition in the Grand Slam tournaments. ”
Alcaraz Garfia skilfully outweighs the comparisons with his idol Rafael Nadal, which have already been brought out from many sides and are not very meaningful. “If I keep working hard, I might be able to make it to the top. But I don't want to be compared with Nadal, "said his clear statement.
Ymer bowles Molleker out of the tournament
Molleker found his champion in Murcia on Friday afternoon in Mikael Ymer. The 20-year-old Swede impressed the Germans with an almost flawless quarter-final game to go 7: 5, 6: 0 after an hour and 13 minutes.
"Rudolf is a very good player and it was not easy to put together a suitable match plan against him," revealed Ymer after his success. "But today I was mentally up to speed, moved well and brought back many balls."
After his premiere success on the ATP Challenger Tour in Nouméa, Ymer is now aiming for his second title win. “I got a lot of confidence and I also licked blood. If you could celebrate your first tournament success, you want more of it. You will only be completely satisfied when you can lift the trophy in the air at the end of the week. Of course I always look at the next match first, but so far it has been going very well this week. ”