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Miami Masters Series

Carlos Alcaraz wins first Masters in Miami, confirms wonderkid status

April 4, 2022 by tennisbloggers Leave a Comment

Carlos Alcaraz wins his first Masters title in Miami and hereby confirms that he is the new wonderkid in tennis. Alcaraz beat Casper Ruud in straight sets 7-5 6-4. 

By winning the Miami tournament Alcaraz is the 2nd youngest player to ever win a Masters title. Only Michael Chang, (Toronto, 1990) and Rafael Nadal (Monte Carlo, 2005) were younger when they won a tournament in this highly prestigious category in professional tennis. The Masters tournament are directly placed under Grand Slam tournaments.

Alcaraz, who is of this week is the number 11 on the ATP Tour rankings, also reached the semi finals of the Indian Wells tournament, another prestigious Masters’ tournament and also considered to be the fifth Grand Slam, gave all he got and then some in Miami to win the third title of his career.

Alcaraz, who was born in Murcia, Spain was pleasantly surprised by coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, who went back to Spain due to the passing of his father.

Alcaraz has a rusty start

Alcaraz did not want to disappoint his Ferrero with whom he has been collaborating in 2019, and may have felt some pressure because he was off to a rusty start with a lot of unforced errors.

Casper Ruud, who also played his first Masters finale like Alcaraz, happily took advantage of the bad start of the Spanish youngster. The Norwegian, number seven in the world, took a 4-1 lead but Alcaraz rejuvenated his game and took the first set with 7-5.

Alcaraz put more variety in his game and dominated Ruud. The Spaniard took a quick 3-0 lead in the second set and won the set and match swiftly by hitting matchpoint on a lovegame.

Alcaraz became the youngest Miami tournament ever and broke the “Spanish curse”. Sergi Bruguera, Carlos Moya, David Ferrer and Rafael Nadal (5x) also reached the finals of the prestigious Miami tournament but there never was a Spanish winner.

A tribute to Juan Carlos Ferrero

“Eduardo always with us,” he wrote on the lens with a heart before acknowledging his coach’s gesture of attending the final in his speech. “Juan Carlos came yesterday, it’s a tough moment for him and I want to say thank you to him for coming to stay with me in this important moment for me, for my career,” the newly-crowned Miami Open said. “It’s pretty amazing to share this with you.”

Filed Under: Featured Columns, Lead Story, Mondays with Morgan Adams Tagged With: Carlos Alcaraz, Miami Masters Series, Miami Open, Rafael Nadal

Time for Roger Federer to Step Up

March 26, 2008 by Mike McIntyre

We are now two months into the 2008 tennis season and who would have thought that by this point Roger Federer would have exactly zero titles to his name? NRoger Federer 2ot only has he failed to win a title thus far, but he has not even made it to a final. While I’m not ready to join the growing number of tennis fans who are wondering aloud if Federer may have passed his peak, clearly it is time that he delivered some results to quiet his critics. It needs to start here and now with the Masters tournament in Miami.
To summarize his year to date, Federer has reached two semifinals and had one first round defeat. However, his semifinal appearances have not exactly been attained with his usual level of brilliance. At the Australian Open, he struggled to get past Janko Tipsarevic in the third round. He eventually pulled it out 10-8 in a rare fifth set – rare for Federer that is. Then last week at Indian Wells, Roger made it through three easy opening round opponents, lucked-out with a quarterfinal walkover, and was then trounced 6-3 6-2 by Mardy Fish. The bottom line is that Federer has not had a strong performance yet in 2008. For a player who has dominated the opening months of the year going back to 2004, this is a major issue.
Each of the past four years, Roger Federer has opened the tennis season by dismissing almost every challenge sent his way. In 2004 he had three titles by this point. In 2005, he had four titles. By this point of 2006 he had three titles and one final. And in 2007 he had two titles. The consistency in his game has been incredible, and by starting each season so strongly he has been able to carry that momentum throughout the year. The same cannot be said thus far in 2008, and with only one more hard court tournament before the claycourt season starts, his confidence and aura of invincibility are nowhere to be found.
While some of his lackluster play can be attributed to him coming down with mononucleosis earlier in the year, one has to wonder if that is the only factor. Perhaps other players are finally beginning to figure out what makes him tick. Younger players like Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are presenting well-rounded and dangerous games that he has not had to face in recent years. Maybe his motivation is starting to wane after so many consecutive years of dominating play. Whatever the reason may be, Federer must make a statement in Miami to show the rest of the tour he is still top dog.
Should Djokovic win this upcoming Miami Masters Series event after his victory in Indian Wells last week, he would be the number one threat on tour, whether the rankings reflect that or not. Suddenly Federer could be viewed as the underdog in their rivalry. Federer needs to have that sense of being unbeatable to continue his push for the Grand Slam record. Many close matches he has had over the years have probably swung his way due to the player across the net realizing who they were playing, and not necessarily how he was playing. How will Federer evolve as a tennis player if he is no longer the number one threat?
I think we will see Federer fight his way to the title in Miami. He needs a confidence boost before switching to the claycourts of Europe and this would be the perfect one. It is time for Federer to display his champion spirit and returned to the winners circle. The alternative would not bode well for him as the tennis season quickly unravels. He does not want to be sitting back watching the Djokovics and Murrays of the tour grab the titles that he has owned for so long. He needs to step up and show them that their time is yet to come.

Filed Under: Featured Columns, Lead Story Tagged With: Andy Murray, Indian Wells, Janko Tipsarevic, Mardy Fish, Miami, Miami Masters Series, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Sony Ericsson Open

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