Alcaraz beat Fritz 6-7 (10), 7-5, 6-3 on Friday night on Court Central at the Plenitude Arena, in 2h43. He saved two match points. And at the end, he pointed at the stands, to share the win with the Paris crowd.
Silly question, but who does the win belong to, then? I reread Tennis Majors on the 7.32 train. Alcaraz said: “The crowd’s support made this possible. It’s the first thing and the main reason I came back into the match today.” The first thing. Not his ace, not his serve followed by a forehand on his first match point. The crowd.
So I went back over the rules I understand. The crowd has to keep quiet during points. It isn’t allowed to shout between the first and second serve. It applauds at the right moment, then sits back down. And according to the winner, it is the main reason for the comeback. I’m told it’s tradition to thank people, fine, but what does that mean? If a silent crowd wins matches, what would it do if it were allowed to sing?
Then Alcaraz wrote on the camera lens: “Semis, you feel very good Pariiiis”. I counted four i’s. I asked the newsroom whether there is a rule on the number of i’s. I checked, and actually nobody knows.
He thanked the people. In our day, we also thanked the lady who made the coffee. The man with the camera, he got an autograph.
The most troubling part is the first set: Alcaraz served for the set at 5-4, then lost a 22-point tie-break, 12-10. Twenty-two points for a single game. Nobody finds that long. I do.
On Saturday he plays the winner of Borges-Ruud in the semi-final. I’ll be watching the stands, mostly. If they’re the ones winning, I want to know who they’re playing. Anyway, I still have a lot to learn.
It’s true, we checked: Tennis Majors.
