Carlos Alcaraz overcomes health problems to beat Rublev at ATP Finals in Turin

Carlos Alcaraz played his second match in the group stage of the ATP Finals in Turin this Wednesday against Russian Andrey Rublev. The Spaniard had some health problems in the run-up to the match which even forced him to suspend one of the training sessions. Despite this, on the court, he imposed his game and ended up winning a clear victory 6-3 and 7-6(8). .

The start of the match started to be complicated for the Murcian, having to work more than necessary to be able to keep his first serve. Once settled on the pitch, he began to press, keeping in mind games the possibility of taking the Russian’s service, but the latter was able to resist the clean and jerk.

Of course, he couldn’t repeat that in Game 7. There, Alcaraz was able to overcome a 40-15 deficit to take a 4-3 lead in the first set. After confirmation, another loss of service from Rublev allowed the Peninsula to win the first set by a clear 6-3. .

In the second set, the competition was much more balanced. This is reflected in the fact that in this part of the match development there were no pause options, which takes the definition to the extreme. tie-break. In this tiebreaker, Rublev ended up giving in and Alcaraz ended up winning the set 7-6 (8) and the victory which leaves him with options to advance to the semi-finals. .

Now his next mission will be to beat Alexander Zverev in the final match of the group stage. Note that the German will face Casper Ruud. If the Norwegian wins, he will already be in the semi-final.

“I surprised myself “, Alcaraz said at the foot of the court when asked about his performance despite a bad feeling. “The way I played today from the baseline, with my serve. It was very quiet. I just tried to focus on my game and what I had to do and forget that I wasn’t feeling well and I was sick. “, he added.

“Once you’re on the court, you have to forget about everything, your off-court problems, and try to concentrate on having a good forehand, a good backhand and developing good tactics against the opponent. I think I did pretty well and I surprised myself. “, he added.

Note that physical discomfort due to a cold complicated Carlos Alcaraz during his debut against Casper Ruud, against whom he ended up losing on Monday.

After this duel, the Spaniard said: “Before coming, I fell ill, but in training I felt more or less well. I felt bad, but I could cope with the ‘rallies‘ long. I had hoped that as the days went by it would get better and today my stomach restricted me, it didn’t allow me to feel comfortable. It’s true that I could have done better, I’m not saying no. I don’t breathe well, drowning has limited me a lot. I don’t want to talk about it because it sounds like an excuse, but ultimately I have to say how I feel. “.

In addition, on Tuesday, he had to suspend the training he had planned due to these inconveniences. And to alleviate them somewhat, during the day of this Wednesday The Hispanic tennis player wore a patch on his nose in an effort to help dilate the nasal passages and improve breathing. .