Sporting Life: Carlos Alcaraz has tennis in a spin with his drop shots

Carlos Alcaraz celebrating after defeating world No. 3 Alexander Zverev in the Madrid Open final on May 8, 2022. PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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The new trophy at the Madrid Open is designed by David Rodriguez Caballero. He is a Spanish sculptor, which is a fair description of the first player to hold his trophy.

Carlos Alcaraz uses only one implement but he does so in multiple ways. His racket is a forehand hammer and yet a drop-shot chisel. He pounds and then he chips away inventively. There is, one might say, a bit of the warrior poet to him.

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