Alejandro Davidovich has rarely seen himself in a fast tournament. In the Californian desert, in the fifth ‘big’, in the Indian Wells Masters 1000, he has already put his head in the round of 16, which means that he will achieve the best order of his life, when he will be in the week. He renewed the same. It will be at least the 20th world championship, after his ceiling at 27 registered last spring after the runner-up in Monte Carlo. He will also overtake Roberto Bautista to become the fourth Spaniard to net only behind Alcaraz, Nadal and Carreño.
Due to the feelings in the game in recent games, it cannot be seen as a surprise that Davidovich beat Karen Khachanov (15th and 13th favorite) late Monday morning, whom he also defeated in the previous solo, in the first round of the masters. 1,000 of Paris Bercy of 2020, in similar conditions to the game, in fast.
It was surprising that the man from Malaga, who in his last two games, against Rublev in Dubai and against Wu in the second round of the Indian Wells, was so lukewarm at the start of the game. In the first, the starlet forgets the game, with three double faults and barely putting the ball in play. He entered very cold, not because he was not hot on the trail, and that could have cost him dearer.
But Davidovich recovered very quickly, and in the second round the others are already pressing the rival, so that the name returns to equality. Not only that, but he has scored five games in a row, with a devastating hand, amazing speeds, climbs measuring well to dominate points and without Khachanov, the winners are hardly any of the stars, although he also reduced his errors. The only concern he could see dearly was when it was the first clause. He had to go through the prayer, but the suggestion of weakness did not go away and he went to dominate the noise.
In the second set things went even faster. Khachanov, the winner of six tournaments, but none since 2018, and the last six finalist at the Australian Open, got his act together and served with 87% of the first points won. His rival could only serve on his first score. Everything else got out of the way and the middle one left and didn’t resist too much after he ‘destroyed’ the two of them.
Karen Khachanov, in fact. ATP
Everything was at the expense of the third force, in which there was a psychological battle, from which he emerged unscathed, and again the long ‘toilet break’ was the key. At times it seemed that Davidovich, who was trying to impress the public with his side-show points and gestures to publicize the stats, had relived the dream of that recent defeat against Rublev in Dubai, dropping five balls in a row.
JUDGMENT
Alejandro Davidovich (28th) beats Karen Khachanov (15th) 6-3, 1-6 and 6-4 in 2 hours, and 19 minutes into the 32nd round of the Indian Well ‘Master of Aces’ 1000 (3-4), double Fouls. (5-1), First Serve Inside (52-62), First Serve Points Won (63-66%), Second Serve Points Won (53-46%), Joy Points Converted (4/11 -4/10); “winners” (35-17), unsaved errors (27-12), points won in net (12/14-12/20) and total points (87-89).
He needed half a dozen ‘break points’ to get the expected break, but at 5-3 and serving his demons, he played his worst in the game. At least for the rest of the chance of victory. The third ‘ball match’ was a charm this time, when the ‘winner’ crossed over to the side. The emotion was such that tears could be seen in the gesture of the angler, who crossed the moment after the victory.
Now Davidovich is waiting for the previous pass in the round of 16 against the Chilean Cristian Garín (97th), who surprises Casper Ruud (4th) this Sunday with two sleeves. Although he has recently been in the doldrums for “top 20” months, he has left the feeling that he can regain his strength. Both are tied in one head-to-head, with Victoria Davidovich of Antwerp in 2021 (three times), in the ‘homes’, and the land defeat in Santiago de Chile in 2020. Both institutions were 32nd in the circuit.
