
MELBOURNE, Australia — Carlos Alcaraz will get tattoos to have a good time Grand Slam titles, so he plans to get ink of a kangaroo if he can win the Australian Open to finish a full assortment from the 4 most prestigious occasions in tennis.
Alcaraz moved nearer to turning into, at age 21, the youngest man with a profession Grand Slam, overcoming a little bit of a blip within the first set he is dropped at Melbourne Park this week for a 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-2 victory over Thirty third-ranked Nuno Borges of Portugal on Friday within the third spherical.
He already has marked his physique with the date of his first main title, which got here on the 2022 U.S. Open; a strawberry to symbolize the primary of his two Wimbledon triumphs, in 2023; the Eiffel Tower for last year’s French Open victory. What would possibly he select if he’s the final man standing in Rod Laver Area on Jan. 26?
“A kangaroo, that’s for certain,” Alcaraz stated with a large smile Friday. “The one factor that I am (lacking is) to elevate the trophy right here, however the plan and the concept is already (there).”
There was a bit stretch towards Borges the place Alcaraz went from properly in management to instantly being unable to place a shot within the courtroom.
It was a bit startling to observe the rating go from 2-all to 6-2 in Borges’ favor throughout the third-set tiebreaker, thanks largely to a string of unforced errors by Alcaraz, who already owns a complete of 4 main championships and is seeded No. 3 in Australia.
A foul backhand. A foul forehand. A foul service return. After which, on Borges’ second set level, Alcaraz missed one other forehand. That set was gone. Alcaraz’s resolve and superior shot-making returned in a blink, although, and he shortly was again on his means.
Early within the fourth set, Alcaraz earned a break level and let loose his acquainted shout of “Vamos!” — as sure a sign as any that he was himself. He transformed that for a 2-0 lead with a sometimes spectacular sequence: He raced ahead to retrieve a brief shot, then, needing to take care of a well-curled lob, sprinted again to the baseline along with his again to the online and spun round to smack a forehand passing winner. Alcaraz’s momentum brought on his ft to slide out from below him, so he dropped his racket and put his fingers on the bottom to brace himself.
Seeing that he gained the purpose, Alcaraz rose and pointed to his proper ear, in search of even louder reward from the followers, then lifted his proper fist.
“I’m making an attempt to play totally different tennis, displaying totally different sorts of photographs,” stated Alcaraz, who subsequent faces No. 15 Jack Draper of Britain or Aleksandar Vukic of Australia. “That’s what makes me … smile on courtroom.”
Alcaraz has not been shy about his targets — over these two weeks or within the greater image. Sure, he needs to win the Australian Open for the primary time (he misplaced within the quarterfinals a yr in the past). And, sure, he would possibly care about getting again to No. 1 within the rankings and successful all kinds of tournaments, however actually, his sights are on this: “Attempt to win as a lot Grand Slams as I can. That’s my foremost purpose.”
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