Annihilation to remember Alcaraz in Vienna

Carlos Alcaraz He debuted a mustache in Shanghai as a promise for his victory in the Tokyo tournament. Things did not go so well for him in his move to China, hunted in his second game by the Belgian Zizou Bergs. He said goodbye in despair to the balls and the court, which he cursed for its irregular bounce. A tantrum that ended in a KO.

The Murcian returned to the competition fifteen days later, still with his mustache. His rest and preparation time lasted longer than expected due to the cancellation of the exhibition. Six Kings Slam, in Saudi Arabia. This opened the door for his return to the ATP 500 in Vienna, which signed him for his team.

A young man Alcaraz, 18 years old closed its debut in the Austrian capital with a semi-final, in which it lost to the then champion ALexander Zverev. At 23 he returned with the same energy, although already with a record that most of his colleagues would have longed for.

Wanting to erase the setback against Bergs, even more painful due to the form, due to the bad feelings experienced, Alcaraz faced his second presence at the indoor hard court in Vienna with fortitude, recovering the path to success.

It was a delicate start for the current world No. 3, as reflected on the court. From the outset, in the round of 32, a recent US Open semi-finalist, the Russian Karen Khachanov, 30 years old and number 24, very well shot with the quarterfinals in Beijing and Almaty, the eighths in Shanghai.

In the face of difficulty, the resort to total annihilation. Carlos Alcarazbreaking personal records after beating the Russian’s new pupil Andrei Chesnokov, former ATP top-10 player, 6-4 and 7-6 (5) in 2h.04′, qualifying for the round of 16.

Alcaraz beat Khachanov for the seventh consecutive time, it is the first 7-0 against an ATP rival on his record. He is 6-0 with the Australian Alex de Minaur, the french Arthur Rinderknech and the greek Stefanos Tsitsipas.

His streak in 500 category tournaments instills greater respect. A partial 22-0has not given in since he lost the Godó 2025 final, against the Dane Holger Rune. Since then, all victories, as in Queen’s and Tokyo 2025 and in Doha and Tokyo 2026. In the middle, a no-show that does not count in his withdrawal in the last Godó due to the wrist injury.

Fresh on his legs due to the forced stoppage of almost five months, since his reappearance he has won 12 of 14 matches. On Thursday he will face the round of 16 against the Austrian Jurij Rodionov (a possible rival of the Spanish team in the Davis Cup quarterfinals) or the Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili.

Against Khachanov he changed gears, intensifying the pace when he sensed undesirable problems. He delivered his serve, 2-3, had five balls of 2-4 Khachanov, a 40-0 and two advantagesbut Alcaraz said enough, who began to vary his tennis more, gave him a push to make the Russian uncomfortable, who remembered his negative record with the Murcian.

4-1 partial for the Spaniard, set to the bag 6-4 in 52 minutes. Absolute change of dynamics. Alcaraz, now firmly in command with his right and subtracting more than his opponent. He did not sentence with 3-2 and 15-40, two break points in favor. Indoors you have to be patient, understand that the opponent’s serve can decide in these types of situations. Such was the case.

Alcaraz maintained the high line of play until the final blow came. It was difficult for him to finish. Three match balls escaped him at 5-4. Even more, he lost his serve next (5-6). To the limit, genius. Break blank and tiebreak to complete with a lot of magic (from 4-5) this annihilation to remember, that 7-0 against Khachanov, unprecedented in the Murcian’s career, and that 22-0 in ATP 500 competitions.

Alcaraz resorted to his overflowing talent in extreme situations, when he saw that the option of completing the victory in two sets, which was his main objective, was slipping away. Khachanov presents him with a battle, the Murcian always ends up controlling it.

Alcaraz started his exciting end to the campaign well in European territory and under cover: Vienna, Paris, ATP Finals in Turin and Davis Cup Final 8. All this until November 29, the day when it will be decided who gets the ‘silver salad bowl’.