The choice of the Murcian, recent champion of the Argentina Open after beating Cameron Norrie 6-3 and 7-5, is not accidental. When he won the US Open title in 2022 and rose to world No. 1 at just 19 years old -the youngest in history-, the ATP Tour welcomed a generational change that was not merely a new litter of illustrious surnames, but the exaggerated deepening of the prevailing paradigm.
Alcaraz went through a period of inactivity due to an injury to his abdomen, at the end of 2022, and to his right leg at the beginning of this season. His return to tennis was during the centenary tournament in Buenos Aires that just ended and in which he showed his entire repertoire, with moments of luxury and others of doubt, but always with a resource at hand.
The current number 2 in the ranking generated fascination in the BALTC stands. The power of his shots and the speed of the ball seem, at times, supernatural. But it is precision that makes the difference between the best in the world and the rest of mortals: elite tennis players do not miss despite the violence of their blows. And that condition, when seeing it live, leaves an image of disbelief in the public.
Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrei Rublev, Holger Rune, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Jannik Sinner and even his own Francisco Cerundolo they are examples of tennis today, molded to be tanks with massive firepower. Perhaps Matteo Berrettini be the prototype of the player of the moment: height, physical arrogance, impacts charged with fury and performance on all surfaces.
This irruption of new monsters that arrived to devastate caused players trained with styles that today look vintage to enter a period of uncertainty. “I myself notice that it is costing me, I have to be honest. I am from another era, so I see things differently from these guys, who arrive, think and play in a different way”, Fabio Fognini told a few days ago Ambit.
The Italian is a faithful exponent of tennis players with a special sensitivity to compete, with arguments that border on luxury and a different creativity. Faced with this scenario, athletes in this group are beginning to lack alternatives to contain the Mike Tyson of rackets: just resist with the gloves up and let the blows hit the forearms and hold on for as long as they can.
“It is important, you have to try to put the other in trouble. Power and precision is what makes it the most. Today there is high precision in all shots. It’s like chess”the Argentina Open champion told this outlet.
The only two athletes who seem to have relative control of the situation are two superstars who, in the final stretch of their careers, are still battling to decide who will be considered the best in history: Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. In particular, the Serbian retains the status of the almighty god of tennis that will end his reign once he decides and not because someone brings him to his knees.
It is when they face the number 1 in the world that the bionic generation diminishes their performance, and does not reach the tennis frenzy to overwhelm it. It is a question of the mind: “Nole” instills respect and, for the moment, terror.
It is logical that this group of bombers have understood that, in times of surfaces with standardized speeds, in which the grass has a higher pitch, brick dust gave more speed to the balls and that ultra-fast indoor folders disappeared , the profit passed through another place. If the floor does not give the advantage, then the strength of each one must give it, and the youngsters understood this perfectly.
The strength, the speed of shots, the physical display and the overwhelming precision of these figures was a recurring theme both at the Argentina Open and on the entire circuit. Once again, tennis has pushed the boundaries and entered a new era where, at least for a while, it will be adapting or abandoning the path. Meanwhile, the champion of this generation celebrates with the mate that makes up the ATP trophy in Buenos Aires. Carlos is back.
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
