Alcaraz’s stat line wasn’t quite as clean as Sinner’s, and he threw in a bad game to be broken. But he was also facing a tough, nervy test from Valentin Vacherot, a Monaco native who was playing with a lot of emotion, and a raucous band of supporters. When Vacherot made a push in the second set, Alcaraz responded with a brilliant game at 4-4 to break, and a winning drop shot to close it out.
“He’s playing great tennis with a lot of confidence right now, playing in his hometown,” Alcaraz said of Vacherot. “It was really tough to get the win.”
Along with the battle for No. 1, this match should feature the full arsenal of both men. Clay will give each of them a chance to play with touch, to use the whole court, to change spins and heights, and to show off their sliding defense. Normally, that would mean advantage Alcaraz; he’s faster, he’s less serve-dependent, and he has the deadlier drop shot. But Sinner has deployed his own drop to good effect so far this week, and hasn’t had much trouble transplanting his aggressive baseline attack from hard courts to clay.
If Sinner can find a level close to what he showed against Zverev, he has a chance. But Alcaraz has a history of seeing Sinner’s level, and finding one that’s just a little bit higher.
