On the eve of the Monte Carlo Masters, a projected quarter-final meeting between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz was the talk of the town.
Alcaraz, fresh from his landmark Miami Open victory, said he hoped to make it through to what would be “a great match”. Djokovic, returning to the tour for the first time since February, spoke of how he still felt motivated to “compete with young guys and try to challenge the best players in the world for the biggest titles”.
But the best laid plans of mice and racket-wielding men often go awry, and a first meeting between Djokovic and the Spanish teenager eventually expected to supplant him as world No 1 is not going to happen. Instead, a day after 22-year-old Alejandro Davidovich Fokina scuppered the anticipated showdown with a three-set upset of Djokovic, Sebastian Korda, 21, offered further evidence that Alcaraz is not the only up-and-coming show in town with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (5-7), 6-3 victory over the eighth seed.
Factor in the 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) defeat of sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, 21, by Lorenzo Musetti, the gifted Italian who only turned 20 last month, and the early rounds in the principality have offered encouraging confirmation of the depth of young talent on the men’s side. Just as fears for the post-Ashleigh Barty future of the women’s game were swiftly allayed by Iga Swiatek’s completion of the “sunshine double”, so reports of the death of men’s tennis, once the big three call time on their careers, appear to have been greatly exaggerated.
Korda had lost his only previous meeting with Alcaraz, a straight-sets defeat in the title round of last November’s Next Gen ATP Finals. But on an afternoon when both players struggled to find their range and timing in swirling wind, an early break offered a first hint that things might go differently this time. Korda has proved his mettle on clay, where he won the first title of his career in Parma last year, and here he artfully adapted his attacking game to the demands of the surface.
“I’m very comfortable on the clay,” said Korda, the son of former Australian Open champion Petr Korda.
“I kind of grew up on the clay, the green clay in Florida, a little bit of red clay when we would travel to Prague, Czech Republic. I know how to play on clay, I move pretty well on clay. I’m very comfortable on it. I’d like to think I can play on all surfaces. Definitely my game is [suited to] a faster surface, but I do enjoy playing on clay. I think I can have some good results.”
For Alcaraz, a player schooled on the surface, it was a sobering afternoon. He spoke afterwards of needing time to make the transition from hard courts, where he has enjoyed unexpected success this year, reaching the semi-finals in Indian Wells before his victory in Miami. Alcaraz’s only previous defeats this year came against Matteo Berrettini and Rafael Nadal, yet he gently rebuffed suggestions that the pressure of expectation might have played a role in his first loss for six months against a player ranked outside the top 10.
“I’m a bit disappointed with myself,” said Alcaraz. “I had a lot of chances to be up in the match and was close to winning, but these losses are sometimes good to live.
“But I didn’t think about the expectation that people have of me. I just focus on me and what I have to do. As I said, you have to play, on clay courts, more matches.”
Having fallen behind, Alcaraz hit back to level at 4-4 and, with Korda faltering on serve, twice served for the set. But the irrepressible Spaniard was denied by a combination of untimely errors and some clutch play from Korda, who went on to dominate the climactic tiebreak as his first serve belatedly clicked into gear.
While the quality of the contest was variable – the opener alone featured 42 unforced errors, evenly divided between the pair – both men nonetheless showed some fine touches, combining power, finesse and fleetness of foot as they produced a full repertoire of shots and demonstrated exceptional court coverage.
Alcaraz was again pegged back in the second set, Korda recovering from a 3-0 deficit and later saving three set points. The American’s tenacity continued into the ensuing tiebreak, where he recovered from 4-2 down to level, but Alcaraz held firm to level the contest with a booming forehand winner. When the teenager broke in the opening game of the decider, he looked set fair to continue his winning streak. Korda, though, had other ideas, tempting Alcaraz into an ill-advised jumping backhand to reclaim parity before conjuring some magical forehand passes to move within two games of victory.
A framed forehand cost Alcaraz a seventh break, and Korda stepped up to serve for the match. Seeing out victory has not always been his forte of late – he has failed to close from winning positions against Dusan Lajovic, Cameron Norrie and Nadal in recent weeks – and when he fired a forehand long off a shanked return on match point, Korda looked to his box in disbelief. This time, though, he held his nerve, his delight evident as he sealed victory with an unreturned serve.
“It feels nice,” said Korda, who will face Taylor Fritz, the Indian Wells champion, in round X. “Especially after losing to a Spaniard in Indian Wells having served for it.
“I had to just stay calm and believe in my returning,” Korda said of the vicissitudes of a windswept contest that produced a combined total of 13 breaks and 90 unforced errors.
“Every time you threw up the ball, it would move around. It was super tough to serve today but I’m super happy with the way I handled myself.
“I don’t know what to say. It was a crazy match.”