Sometimes the hype is greater than the actual event.
In the case of the semifinal match between World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and World No. 3 Novak Djokovic, the end of the match was a terrible disappointment because the first sets were the highest caliber tennis we have seen all year long.
SHOT OF THE YEAR FROM CARLOS ALCARAZ! 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/10Y38213ne
— Olly 🎾🇬🇧 (@Olly_Tennis_) June 9, 2023
After trading sets with Djokovic jumping out to a 6-3 lead and Alcaraz inserting his magic to win the second 7-5, the third set was all even at 1-1.
There was already one injury timeout in the second set with Djokovic getting his forearm/elbow massaged.
This is a lingering injury issue for him though he has not worn the arm sleeve through the entire French Open fortnight.
But at 1-1, the trajectory of the match changed permanently.
What Happened
Fans could see that Alcaraz was flexing his hand to the point where he did not grip the racquet until the last possible minute to return the serve.
Then, it seemed as though his entire body tightened up.
Cramps are apparently what was happening, but they were so debilitating that Alcaraz had to concede the game to get treatment.
He was a ghost of himself through the entire third set, not winning another game, with the final score being 6-1.
Alcaraz continued to get treatment when he could on medical timeouts and did not retire.
He was trying to give himself time to loosen up, but in the meantime, Djokovic was building an insurmountable lead.
Carlos Alcaraz conceded his service game to Novak Djokovic because his leg locked up in cramps.
He received treatment during his service game & essentially handed Novak the break of serve.
The crowd is booing over the situation.
Chaos. pic.twitter.com/oUIH7XGN2l
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 9, 2023
What Could Have Been
Four or five sets of what we witnessed in the first two sets would have been outstanding.
It was a tremendously physical match in those first two sets.
Alcaraz has suffered from cramps on separate occasions before.
Carlos Alcaraz had a similar situation with cramping against Jannik Sinner in Miami
There’s nothing worse than watching such a great talent unable to perform at his best in these big events because of something like cramps
Hopefully this isn’t a recurring theme in his career 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/nIzvveRq8g
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 9, 2023
His ability to run and insert himself at every point was no longer there; Alcaraz was going for broke trying to win points fast.
It was almost as if he did not trust his body and won just one game in total after all of that happened to him.
Hopefully, Alcaraz is okay, and we get another opportunity to see these two players battle each other at another tournament (preferably a Grand Slam) in 2023.
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