2 months ago
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In Nottingham, where Dayana Yastremska faces McCartney Kessler, they’re off for rain with Kessler up 5-4 in the first.
Preamble
Just under a fortnight ago, Carlos Alcaraz completed one of the great comebacks to beat Jannik Sinner in one of the great finals, winning his second consecutive French Open in the process, and it felt like everything had changed. There was before that match, and there would be after it.
In our minds and our hearts, that might remain the case. But for actual sportsfolk, actual sport isn’t really like that, moving relentlessly and remorselessly on like nothing else has happened, is happening, will happen – it’s Eckhart Tolle’s Power of Now to the nth degree. The past is passed and the future is a promise; all that exists the current moment.
If we were here to improve ourselves we could probably learn something from that; never mind. Even so, though, as they stand before us this afternoon we can be certain Alcaraz doesn’t care about Paris, he just wants to win today, and Jiri Lehecka definitely doesn’t care about Paris, he just wants to win the biggest title of his nascent career.
And believe that he can; when you serve like he does, you can win against anyone, To get to here, he’s seen off Alex de Minaur, Gabriel Diallo, Jacob Fearnley and an admittedly ill Jack Draper – a decent effort nevertheless – and won’t be overawed by the opponent or occasion.
Alcaraz, though, is capable of winning any contest, from any position, in any manner, a creative genius and mentality monster. He is beatable – the options available to him on court are so numerous he sometimes loses himself among them – but if Lehecka is to triumph today, he’ll have to play the match of his life so far, having convinced himself it’s the only match that’s ever been. And even then, it might not be enough.
Play: 2pm BST
