Of course, comparing any 18-year-old to Rafael Nadal is inherently unfair. And stylistically, Alcaraz does not fly around the court like he modeled his game after Nadal. In fact, he said after the match his style was more similar to Roger Federer. But where it’s easy to see the connection to his countryman is the relentlessness of Alcaraz’s attack, his fist-pumping flair and the ability to raise his level in the big moment.
“The crowd was behind me, pushing me up in every moment,” Alcaraz said. “It surprised me.”
The palpable buzz around Arthur Ashe Stadium began when Alcaraz got off to a fast start, but it truly started to build to a crescendo when he came from two breaks of serve down in the third set to pull even and then win the tiebreak with a combination of roped backhands that seemed to kiss every line and deft drop shots that vexed his opponent.
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