Khachanov was the litmus test for Alcaraz

This afternoon, the fourth round of the Rome Masters began, and the Spanish all-round warrior Alcaraz faced the challenge of the Russian god of thunder Khachanov. Compared to his opponents in the first two rounds, Serbian SLR veteran Lajovic and clay-court ace Jerre, Khachanov is the litmus test of Alcaraz's form at the Rome Masters.

Alcaraz, who played in the first two rounds of the Rome Masters, won two consecutive matches in two sets, but it can be seen to the naked eye that Alcaraz's hitting rhythm and competitive state in the game are far from good.

Against Lajovic, Alcaraz's first-serve scoring rate and first-serve scoring rate are not high, just over 70%, and the second-serve scoring rate is only 60%; Against Djere, Alcaraz's service form has also declined, with a first-serve scoring rate of less than 70 per cent, but a second-serve winning rate of 64 per cent. In terms of batting, Jerre's serve and excellent performance in the first set put Alcaraz under a lot of pressure and made Alcaraz's game look difficult, as evidenced by Alcaraz's last-minute break of his opponent's serve to win the set and tie-break. Alcaraz had a whopping 28 unforced errors and just 15 winning points, which is a huge gap compared to the level of winning points and unforced errors in the first game. On the bright side, the usual good performance at the net has picked up, with a 78% (7/9) scoring rate in front of the net, well above the 54% (7/13) in the opening game. All this shows that Alcaraz's state of atletico is average and is still in the process of improving.

However, considering that Alcaraz has just returned from injury, he needs to carefully test his recovery from the injury, and he has had to take protective measures to wear a black bandage on his right thigh while wearing a black nose patch to reduce the symptoms of the cold, Alcaraz was able to win two consecutive matches in two sets, which is gratifying. As Alcaraz enthused after the game: "When I was on the pitch I put my heart and soul into it, trying not to think about the injuries. But sometimes it's really tough. So it's great to be able to finish the game in two sets and save energy for the rest of the game. ”

At five o'clock this afternoon, in the fourth round of the Rome Masters, Alcaraz faced Khachanov. This litmus test, which is much stronger than Lajovic and Djere, will inspire Alcaraz to perform?

Born in June 1996 and 1.98 meters tall, Khachanov's serve is like a heavy artillery bombardment, his forehand is powerful and heavy, and the bottom line double reverse volley firepower is equally ferocious. After reaching the semi-finals of the Rogers Cup Masters in Canada in 2018, Khachanov shone at the Paris Masters, winning the title in one fell swoop. Khachanov won the first Masters championship of his career with consecutive victories over the four top ten players in the world, including the American cannon Isner, the German tank Zverev, the Austrian prince Thiem, and the Serbian king Djokovic, becoming the second post-95 master after Zverev Jr.

Djokovic spoke highly of Khachanov for this: "He has everything to win, he is young, full of potential, he is technically complete. He's already a top player and has a lot to offer. With the encouragement of his predecessors and the expectations of his fans, Khachanov reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 2019, reaching the world ranking of eighth on July 15 and the year-end world ranking of 11th. But, unexpectedly, this turned out to be the highest world ranking of Khachanov's career so far.

In 2021, Khachanov reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, and helped the Russian team win the Davis Cup. In 2022, Khachanov went one step further to reach the semifinals of the US Open, and in 2023, he reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open again, becoming a Grand Slam quarter-finalist. However, Khachanov's record is limited to this, and the world ranking has hovered around 20th for a long time, far behind Russian Tsar Dmitry Medvedev and Russian golden monkey Rublev.

With Khachanov's excellent physical condition and outstanding tennis talent, Khachanov can not be afraid of any opponent; It will not be easy for any player to beat Khachanov and he will have to give it his all and give it his all. Let's look at 5 o'clock this afternoon, in the fourth round of the Rome Masters, Khachanov, the litmus test, to test Alcaraz's competitive state?

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Colorful Bean Powder)