By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Friday, April 11, 2025
Photo credit: Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters Facebook
The Carlos Alcaraz player box isn’t equipped with a defibrillator.
Lately, Alcaraz’s propensity for pulsating comebacks is becoming a bit of a health hazard for family members.
A defiant Alcaraz surged through five straight games rallying past 20-year-old Frenchman Arthur Fils 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 to reach his first Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters semifinal.
The second-seeded Alcaraz faced triple break point at 5-all in the second set before flipping the script and firing through nine of the next 10 points to snatch the second set.
While Alcaraz’s skill dancing in the danger zone makes his matches thrilling for fans, they’re taking a physical toll on his dad and original coach, Carlos Alcaraz.
“I think for my health and my team’s health, it is important to play the best points a little bit earlier,” Alcaraz told the media in Monte-Carlo with a smile. “You know, probably a few times my team and my dad told me that probably he’s gonna get a heart attack, you know, sometimes.
“But, I mean, it’s just, I don’t know, I think that real champions find the right level, you know, when it’s needed.
“Obviously I would love to play such a, I mean, a high level on my best tennis from the beginning until the last ball, but I think in tennis we play in two hours, two hours and a half, so it is the most difficult things to do in tennis to maintain your best tennis during two hours and a half.”
Dramatic dips in his level—and his sometime struggle to land first serves—put Alcaraz in dire straits in his first meeting vs. the ultra-athletic Fils.
Echoing sentiments his tennis hero, Rafael Nadal often offered, Alcaraz said he strives to stay hungry—and humble—when facing deficits.
Still, the reigning Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion said he’s striving for a more consistent level throughout the match, but accepts ebbs and flows are sometimes inevitable against dangerous opponents like Fils.
“So when it’s needed, it’s great to find the good tennis,” Alcaraz said. “But, you know, in the whole match, I would love to play a good tennis, but sometimes I’m playing against an opponent who play better, and you have to accept it and run and fight.
“You know, I think I just, yeah, I just played a good second set, but we both didn’t have chances until the end of the set. So that means that we were playing great tennis, both of us, in the service game, but yeah, I think the real champions find the good tennis in the tough moments.”
The third-ranked Alcaraz expects another tough test against his friend and sometime practice partner Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in tomorrow’s all-Spanish semifinals.
In today’s first quarterfinal, 2022 Monte-Carlo finalist Davidovich Fokina did not face a break point in a 6-3, 6-2 sweep of Aussie Alexei Popyrin. Davidovich Fokina won 26 of 32 first-serve points and dropped only 10 points on serve in a strong 69-minute victory.
It’s a semifinal of friendly fire between two tremendous movers who can both extend—and exterminate—points on the run. Alcaraz will need to land first serves with more frequency against his compatriot.
“He invited me to his wedding. He’s a friend,” Alcaraz said of Davidovich Fokina. “We have seen each other for a long time already. He used to play with my old brother when they were younger, as well.
“I know him pretty well. I’ve played against him a few times. Practiced a lot. So it’s going to be interesting. It’s not gonna be easy, never easy playing against a friend, but, you know, this is tennis.
“Once you step on the court, there are no friends (smiling). So I have to go for it. There is no time to be tired, to be afraid. I will try to show a good tennis, and let’s see.”
