Alcaraz shakes the night of Barcelona

When the night in Barcelona has already erupted and the stands of the Godó central vibrate due to the kicking of the fans on the metal structure, a cry: "Fuck, Fowl, Fowl!".

And at the same time, a revealing detail.

In that swampy territory where most shrink, suffer and tend to get lost in the labyrinth of doubt, he grows, enjoys and even has fun.

Carlos Alcaraz (6-4, 5-7 and 6-2, in 2h 12m) makes touches with the ball, smiles and harangues the public from the chair, while Stefanos Tsitsipas recriminates the chair umpire, curses, shrinks and looks at the infinity: Not again!

Again, the Spanish has subjected him to torture.

After the episodes in New York and Miami, the boy from El Palmar gives him up again.

Alcaraz does it in a duel that has gone on all the time on a thin ledge, in the midst of a tense emotional balance that is summed up in a magnificent handful of drop shots, several

that lift the fans and three frames: the challenging look of the Murcian at the close of the first set, when Tsitsipas threw a nasty ball to the body without offering any apology;

the mischievous laugh when the ball hits the net in the final stretch and falls inside;

and those arms up that symbolize his first big night in Barcelona.

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Alcaraz, from top to bottom and from bottom to top

It is the third victory over the Greek, a volcano, desperate because he does not solve the riddle that the young man proposes day after day.

Number five's blood boils, he gets two reprimands for being late in his visit to the locker room and he definitely gives up.

That attempt has been useless.

In parallel, Alcaraz crosses another border after a marathon day that is resolved with artificial light.

The victories against Jaume Munar (double 6-3, in 1h 10m) and Tsitsipas allow him to enter the

of the circuit and they quote him today in the semifinals (4:00 p.m., Teledeporte and Esport 3) with the Australian Alex de Miñaur (6 -0 and withdrawal of Lloyd Harris).

“I would say that I have a good dropshot and I solve it well,” he says first mischievously.

“I have goosebumps.

It has been incredible, impressive”, he continues later, knowing that his entry into the top 10 coincides geographically with that of Nadal, who achieved it on April 25, 2005, when the Balearic raised his first Godó at 18 years, 10 months and 22 days, for the 18, 11 and 20 of him;

he is the ninth of a list commanded by Aaron Krickstein (17 and 11 days in 1984).

"I've never seen anyone go to the bathroom in the middle of a break on a set.

I think he wanted to stop my good rhythm, but he couldn't;

I think it was a strategy to try that”, he concludes.

Marathon and pyrotechnics

It has been a pyrotechnic evening, one of those that leave their mark.

After getting rid of Munar with an exhibition of service and control –in the pulse suspended the previous day due to rain–, Alcaraz and his opponent entered the court at a quarter to nine at night.

The Spaniard decides the first set with a millimetric dropshot and the Greek, on fire, seals it with a shot to the body that annoys the stands;

the second is started by Alcaraz on wheels, 4-1 up, but he accelerates and twists, and Tsitsipas re-engages with high balls to avoid the rival's violent blow;

the last one is also loaded with dynamite.

When Alcaraz opens the gap with a 3-0 in his favor, the Athenian (23 years old) gets unnerved, goes to the dugout and when he returns, he receives a two-point penalty.

From there he disconnects, leaves the match and the Spaniard continues to fray him to clinch a day that began at twelve noon, which ends at eleven between jubilation and in which Pablo Carreño has also triumphed, cited in the other semifinal (13.30) with Diego Schwartzman after getting rid of Lorenzo Sonego (6-2, 5-7 and 6-2) and Casper Ruud (4-6, 7-6 (8) and 6-3).

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