Such is the extempore brilliance of Carlos Alcaraz as a shot-maker that identifying a single moment of virtuosity by which he might come to be remembered, especially while he is still only 19 years old, is almost inevitably a fool’s game.
Nonetheless, here goes: one day, when Alcaraz reaches the end of his career and the Serena Williams-style video montages come to be compiled, few shots will feature more prominently than the airborne, behind-the-back effort the Spaniard conjured late in the second set of his 6-3, 6-7 (7-9), 6-7 (0-7), 7-5, 6-3 US Open quarter-final victory over Jannik Sinner.
On an electric night at Flushing Meadows, it was a moment that showcased all the qualities that mark out Alcaraz as a generational talent. Extraordinary speed, athleticism, strength and balance, certainly. But also a rare gift for improvisation, and the technical excellence to breathe life into strokes that, for most, live only in the hinterlands of the imagination.
You know you have done something special when you leave Juan Carlos Ferrero, the quietly understated former world No 1, who has coached Alcaraz since he was 16, shaking his head in disbelief and mouthing, “Man.”
Context matters too when it comes to such considerations, and it is a reflection of the heights scaled by Sinner, in what was one of the finest matches of the season, that Alcaraz’s stroke of genius neither propelled him to a break nor gave him the impetus to win the tiebreak that followed.
Instead, Sinner went on to level at a set all, and the Spanish teenager was forced to take the long-haul route to victory, finally prevailing at 2.50am after five hours and 15 minutes of unforgettable, gladiatorial tennis.
“I feel great to be in my first semi-final in a grand slam,” said Alcaraz, the third seed. “I feel better reaching [that] semi-final here at the US Open.
“This tournament is amazing. The crowd is amazing, I would say the best in the world. I mean, the energy I received in this court at 3am, it was unbelievable. Probably in other tournaments, other places, everybody would have gone to their house to rest. But they kept in the court, supporting me. It was unbelievable.”
It will be remembered as the latest finish in the tournament’s history, comfortably eclipsing the previous record of 2.26am, and the night that Alcaraz reached his first major semi-final, the youngest man to do so since Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros in 2005.
It will be remembered for the unrelenting drama that saw Alcaraz save a match point in the fourth set. For the relentless, jaw-dropping quality of the ball-striking from both men. For the kaleidoscopic range and extraordinary dexterity of their skills, and for the mesmeric speed of their court coverage. Rarely has the term “winner” felt more provisional.
It will also go down as a coming-of-age moment in a rivalry between two young players with the ability to shape the course of the men’s game for years to come. Sinner, 21 years old and ranked 13th in the world, had won two of his three previous tour-level meetings with Alcaraz, most recently at Wimbledon two months ago. Another victory for the Italian might have risked temporarily dampening the sense of excitement surrounding their nascent tug-of-war. There is no risk of that now. Instead, Alcaraz landed an important psychological blow, levelling their personal series and demonstrating to his fellow prodigy that he will not have things all his own way on the game’s grandest stages.
“I always say that you have to believe in yourself all the time,” said Alcaraz in the immediate aftermath of victory. “The hope is the last thing that you lose. I just believed in myself, believed in my game.”
Frances Tiafoe has all but made that sentiment his personal mantra at this US Open, and it is the 24-year-old American that Alcaraz will face on Friday as both men attempt to reach their first major final.
To the clamorous approval of a New York crowd craving a first homegrown champion since Andy Roddick – not to mention a prolongation of the wave of patriotic fervour stirred by Serena Williams’s farewell and sustained by his own inspired run – Tiafoe backed up his win over Rafael Nadal in the previous round with a 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-0), 6-4 victory over Andrey Rublev, the Russian ninth seed.
It was a performance of power, aggression and no little variety from Tiafoe, who fended off a set point in the opener with a mighty forehand and then played a flawless tiebreak to take a two-set lead, running the gamut from booming aces to the deftest of drop volleys.
“It was honestly a laughable tiebreaker,” smiled Tiafoe afterwards. “You can’t make that up.”
For Rublev, a sixth grand slam quarter-final without success – and a third in five years at Flushing Meadows – was almost too much to bear. When Tiafoe moved ahead decisively midway through the third set, it wasn’t just the Russian’s serve that was broken, it was also his spirit, the 24-year-old’s emotion turmoil painfully evident as he sat weeping into his towel.
Tiafoe joked afterwards that he hoped Alcaraz and Sinner played each other into the ground.
“I just hope they play a marathon match, super-long match, and they get really tired come Friday,” he said.
His wish granted, he must hope now hope he can bring Alcaraz back down to Earth. As Sinner discovered, that is easier said than done.