Spain's “Next Big Thing” Alcaraz Garfia inspires in Trieste
Again a euphoric “Mamma-Mia” of astonishment sounds from the grandstands of the Campo-Centrale “Claudio Giorgi” at the Tennis Club Triestino. The audience's enthusiasm is not for the Italian local hero Matteo Viola , but for his counterpart. Because the only 17-year-old Carlos Alcaraz Garfia from Spain is in action.
by Florian Heer
last edit: Aug 27, 2020, 10:08 am
From Florian Heer from Trieste
Word has long since got around to the Gulf of Trieste what great talent can be marveled at here live and up close. The ranks are accordingly well filled. Alcaraz Garfia delivers an impressive race to catch up in his second round match at the Città di Trieste ATP Challenger.
Convincing appearance
If the teenager was still behind with a break in the first set, he was able to secure the opening round in the tenth game and then delivers the big show. Hard, whip-like basic forehand strokes that are reminiscent of his coach, the 2003 Roland Garros champion, Juan Carlos Ferrero. It was not for nothing that the former number one in the world was also called "Mosquito", as he was able to stab in a flash with his most powerful weapon on the pitch.
His protégé is not quite that far yet. Alcaraz Garfia is currently ranked 310th in the ATP world rankings, but he already convinces with his playful variety on the court. The young man from Murcia is not only solid from the baseline, also one or the other stop is often interspersed. And it also appears stable on the network. One or the other skillfully accomplished volley even brings a smile to his mentor in the stands. In the end it is 6: 4 and 6: 2.
Second place in the quarter-finals
"I am very satisfied with my performance today," says Alcaraz Garfia happily after almost one and a half hours of play. He prefers to speak in Spanish while doing this. Interviews in English are not (yet) the order of the day. He can already point to some international successes.
Spain's “Next Big Thing” won three tournaments on the ITF World Tennis Tour and is in the process of establishing itself on the ATP Challenger Tour. In his hometown, of all places, he was able to set his first exclamation mark during the Murcia Open. As a 16-year-old, he defeated a player from the top 150 in April 2019 after a success over the French Gleb Sakharov with Pedro Martinez Portero from Spain to move into the round of 16. A first participation in the quarter-finals took place five months later at the Copa Sevilla in Andalusia.
Work on the physique
Alcaraz Garfia, who trains at the JC Ferrero Equelite Sport Academy in Villena, tried to use the relatively strict Corona lockdown in Spain as much as possible. “I spent a lot of time in the gym to work on my physical fitness. Overall it was a tough time. So I'm all the happier to be back on the pitch, ”beamed the Iberian. Alcaraz Garfia saw the restart of the Challenger Tour last week in Todi, Italy. However, after qualifying in the first round of the main draw against the Italian Gian Marco Moroni in Umbria, it was over.
Still in the learning phase
In Trieste, about 600 kilometers away, he was able to equalize his best result so far at this level by moving into the last eight.
What else can you expect from him this week? "It has gone very well so far and I am enjoying the positive results, but I still have to learn from every game and from every opponent and think from match to match," said Alcaraz Garfia modestly. A virtue that in turn reminds of its coach and mentor and can lead to renewed exclaims of enthusiasm in the stands.