Seeing Fonseca on the same court as Alcaraz was instructive. Alcaraz is no stranger to youthful ambition, but in this match he went for broke when he was leaning into the ball, not when he backing off of it. He also showed off his deft defensive movement, and a level of agility that is, and probably always will be, superior to Fonseca’s. Alcaraz hit 27 winners to Fonseca’s 13. Probably most important, he made 70 percent of his first serves, and won 80 percent of those points. There aren’t many players of any age capable of beating Alcaraz when he’s serving like that.
Afterward, Alcaraz had a good grasp of Fonseca’s strengths, and what he needs to improve.
“There were some times that he made a winner from behind the baseline with a fluffy ball that I just sliced, that I caught like a moonball, and from behind the baseline he was able to make a winner,” Alcaraz said. “It feels like he can make a winner every, you know, from everywhere. And that’s impressive.”
I can remember, five years ago, being amazed by Alcaraz’s ability to generate maximum power from balls that come in with no pace of their own. I’ve felt the same way watching Fonseca since his breakthrough a year ago. But as Alcaraz now knows, just because you can hit a winner on any ball, doesn’t mean you should try to do it.
