Alcaraz Gains Momentum Against Altmaier

On Thursday, Carlos Alcaraz achieved a somewhat misleading result against Daniel Altmaier to secure a spot in the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 (6-3, 6-1). Despite the seemingly easy victory, the Spaniard had to work hard to defeat the German and avoid an upset in the Principality, where he is getting accustomed to winning.

With Thursday's win, Alcaraz now has two consecutive victories in a tournament where, until 2025, he had never experienced a win on the court. On a warmer day than his challenging debut against Francisco Cerúndolo, the Spaniard faced difficulties but managed to overcome the German with a one-handed backhand and surprising play.

Ranked 84th in the world, Altmaier, who came through the qualifiers and defeated Jaume Munar, Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Richard Gasquet, was better than Alcaraz in the early stages. However, he failed to convert his superior play into any advantage. Not even in the second game, when he had five break points, could he secure a break.

In fact, for the fans, the moment that will be remembered is the spectacular point Alcaraz won with a between-the-legs lob, rather than the great moment Altmaier had, which took Alcaraz five games to respond to. But it wasn't immediate.

Alcaraz flirted with fluctuations, allowed Altmaier to recover a break, and demonstrated better performance on returns than on serve. He faced ten break points in total, with Altmaier converting only one. After losing a 0-40 lead at the start of the second set, the German vented his frustration by hitting a ball into the stands, without hitting any spectators, and received a warning from the chair umpire.

Altmaier's frustration contrasted with a much more comfortable Alcaraz, who was propelled towards a victory he sealed in an hour and a half with a "Vamos" and a clenched fist directed at his bench, where Samuel López, his coach for this first clay-court tournament, also celebrated.

Signing the camera, Alcaraz confirmed his affinity with the surface: "I love clay," he wrote.

"It was a tough match, Daniel played very well, he is very solid on clay. The result doesn't show how difficult it was and the battles I had to fight at the start of both sets. In the second set, I was able to be more aggressive and be more myself. I'm very happy to have found a good rhythm and to be gradually improving," Alcaraz said in his on-court interview.

In the next round, Arthur Fils awaits, who surprisingly defeated Andrey Rublev, the 2023 champion on these courts, 6-2, 6-3. For the match against the Frenchman, whom he has never faced before, Alcaraz will need to make fewer mistakes, having committed 33 unforced errors against Altmaier, especially with his backhand, which accounted for 17 of those errors.