Alcaraz on the 5th set does not fight: he won 14 out of 15 games. Berettini the last to stop him

When he collected the crumbs of yet another defeat in a Slam final, Alexander Zverev tried to define the Alcaraz’s fury who overwhelmed him in the fifth set: “We are both physically strong. But he is a beast, an animal for sure. In the fifth he changed tactics and took me out of me”. Incandescent Scenario: final of the Roland Garros 2024. Not much changed: 365 days later Carlitos repeated the French title at the decisive set, leaving Sinner this time. And in the first round of Wimbledon he left legs on his shoulder for yet another marathon, winning again on the fifth. To remain without oxygen, this time, it was a sublime Fabio Fognini. Alcaraz’s reserves, however, seem to multiply to the decisive partial.

Ko against Berrettini

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The statistical data deserves underlining. Carlos Alcaraz, when it was to play the fifth set, won 14 games out of 15. Including three Slam finals: the two of Roland Garros and the unforgettable Wimbledon 2023 when he left Sasso Novak Djokovic. Translating into percentages, the Spaniard won 93.3% of the partial decisive matches. The only one able to defeat him was an Italian, even if it is not Sinner. It was the Australian Open 2022 when Matteo Berrettini was able to mocked him in the third round: Carlos presented himself as a series head number 31, in front of him the road seemed sparkling but not without obstacles. And in fact at 18 and a half years old he could not keep the blood cold in the fifth set, concluded with the 10 -point tie break in which Matteo proved surgical. Melbourne, among the cities of the four Slam, has always gone sideways to Carlos. Which, moreover, won everywhere except there.

raise the level

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From the Australian Open 2022, however, Alcaraz put the fifth to the fifth: “What makes me special in these situations? That I feel very physically well. I don’t know, I don’t think I raise my tennis: I feel good and this also helps me to play more calm than my opponent. I know he has to play at a very high level of intensity if he wants to beat me”. True: Sinner in Paris had to sweat the proverbial seven shirts and perhaps also something more to return the against break and bring the challenge on 6-6 to the fifth, as well as Fognini in the first round of Wimbledon. Alcaraz seems almost to wait for him lucidly, the decisive partial: not trivial sensation, considering that the Spaniard is hardly characterized by coldness, in his career. Instead, here he is to raise the pressure to the fifth, bringing out winnings with a nonchalance that leaves stucco.

Better than Big Three

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Stucco also leave other numbers. Alcaraz, among the tennis players who have at least 10 Grand Slam matches behind the decisive set, is clearly the first for victories. Its 93.3% make sacred monsters pale. Only Novak Djokovic, from the top of its 78.4%, approaches slightly: the Serbian triumphed on 40 occasions and lost in 11. The budget is lower for Nadal (two wins every three meetings: 26 successes and 13 ko) and above all for Federer, stopped at 58.9%: Roger has won 33 times and lost 23, among which the bloody final of Wimbledon 2019 stands out. Due to those damn matches points thrown to the wind, he recalled that of Sinner in Paris, not even a month ago. By the way, and and fifth set of Jannik? Improved: 6 wins and 10 defeats. Among the Ko, three bring the Alcaraz brand.