Carlos Alcaraz, the world number 2, was unable to retain his Buenos Aires championship. In the semi-final, Carlos was defeated by Nicolas Jarry with a score of 7-6, 6-3 in a match that lasted one hour and 55 minutes. This loss means that the Spaniard has not won a title since Wimbledon in July of last year, and he is now looking forward to competing in Rio de Janeiro next week in hopes of a better performance.
During the first set, neither player had any opportunities to break their opponent’s serve. However, it was Jarry who had the upper hand in the tie break. In the second set, Carlos managed to secure an early break, but he was unable to maintain his lead for long. Nicolas broke Carlos’ serve twice and ultimately won the match in straight sets, securing a spot in the ATP final.
In the opening game of the match, Carlos held his serve without dropping a point, thanks to a powerful service winner. However, Nicolas quickly equalized the score at 1-1 with a winner at the net in the second game. The defending champion continued to perform well, holding his serve at love in the third game and reaching deuce on Nicolas’ serve in the following game after his opponent made a forehand error.
Despite Carlos’ strong start, Jarry remained composed and won the next two points, bringing the score to 2-2. Carlos continued his impressive serving streak, winning his fifth game without dropping a point and taking a 3-2 lead. In the seventh game, Carlos served flawlessly once again, winning all 16 of his service points and putting pressure on his opponent.
Nicolas managed to earn his first return points in the ninth game, reaching deuce before Carlos closed it out with a service winner. In the tenth game, Carlos came within two points of winning the set, but Nicolas fought back and closed the game with two service winners, resulting in a 5-5 tie and extending the battle.
Both players held their serves well in the 11th and 12th games, leading to a tie break after Nicolas’ powerful serve at 5-6. Unfortunately for Carlos, he started the tie break with a double fault and lost two more points on his serve, finding himself trailing 4-1. Nicolas then hit a forehand winner to go up 5-1 and earned five set points with a service winner.
On the second set point, Carlos made an unforced error with a routine forehand, losing the tie break 7-2 and allowing Nicolas to take the lead after an hour of play. At the beginning of the second set, Nicolas made a backhand error and faced three break points. Carlos capitalized on this opportunity and secured the first break of the match.
Instead of capitalizing on that, Alcaraz presented Jarry with an opportunity to break in the second game after an unforced mistake. Carlos managed to save it with a powerful serve, but succumbed on the second chance when Nicolas returned the ball deep, causing an error from the world number 2. They both served effectively in the following three games before Alcaraz found himself facing another break point in the sixth game due to a weak backhand shot. The young prodigy, however, thwarted the threat with a forehand winner and successfully held his serve after Jarry’s poorly executed drop shot. Nicolas closed the seventh game after a prolonged rally and continued to put pressure on Alcaraz’s serve in the subsequent game. The Chilean engaged in a back-and-forth from the baseline, utilizing his backhand to force a break opportunity. Unfortunately for the Spaniard, he netted a forehand and fell behind 5-3, inching closer to defeat. Jarry served for what would be his greatest triumph in the ninth game and managed to stave off a break point with a powerful serve. On a match point, Nicolas committed a double fault, giving Carlos a glimmer of hope. With a lob winner, Alcaraz earned a second break point, but Jarry countered it with a smash winner and created another match point after a backhand error from the Spaniard. The Chilean capitalized on Alcaraz’s mistake, securing the victory and celebrating a career-defining win.
According to the Source tennisworldusa.org