Carlos Alcaraz finished the year as world number one and playing in the final of the ATP Finals in Turin against Jannik Sinner. Before missing the Davis Cup Final 8 due to an edema in the hamstring of his right leg, the best tennis player on the planet sat down with MARCA to talk about his great rival, the eternal figure of Novak Djokovic and his next challenges.
In 2023, when you won the first of your two titles at Wimbledon, you told me that there could not be a change of era while Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic were still playing. You and Jannik Sinner have shared the last eight major titles. Is there a change of era? Are we in the Alcaraz and Sinner era?
Djokovic is still playing. The years go by, but Djokovic is still there, he is the number four in the world and has reached the semifinals in all the Grand Slams. He has the level and the motivation, because his physique allows him to continue competing and to continue being at the highest level. It is true that, in recent years, both Jannik and I have been the ones who have been there the most, along with others. But in our heads it is us two. It may be that we are moving on to another generation.
The Frenchman Nicolas Mahut, who retired at the last Masters 1000 in Paris, believes that Sinner is obsessed with you. What is your opinion?
I think both. He has lost two or three matches in the last two years and the vast majority have been with me. Jannik has to see and think about what he has to improve to beat the player he has not been able to beat more times. It’s logical and it’s normal. I have lost to more players, but my thinking is to try to improve and do things so that the next time we face each other I will be a much better player.
I think both Sinner and I are obsessed with each other
When was the last time you cried about tennis?
It was in Miami, yes in Miami.
Within your team you have a psychologist like Isabel Balaguer. Do you talk a lot and what do you talk about?
I talk to her less and less. It’s a relationship in which Juanqui and Samu talk to her a lot to give her instructions so that later on the court they can give them to me. I talk to her when I feel the need to talk to someone. Thank God, since Miami I have not had that feeling of having to let off steam because everything has gone very well. And I, both on and off the court, felt very good.
What is your first memory of the Davis Cup?
The only time I was able to see the Davis Cup live was in Valencia, a Spain-Germany match. It’s the only time I went as a spectator, with David (Ferrer)’s historic match against Kohlschreiber. It was an incredible moment.
I don’t know if the Davis Cup owes me something, but sooner or later my time will come
The Ferrero Tennis Academy is full of photographs of your coach in the 2000 final where he was the architect of the victory with the point won against Lleyton Hewitt. Has Ferrero told you much about what he experienced at the Palau Sant Jordi?
He has told me about that feeling he had, the behind-the-scenes feeling that is said. He always tells me that it was a moment that probably changed everything.
You’ve had different physical problems in the Davis Cup since you made your debut. Do you feel that the competition owes you something?
I don’t know if the Davis Cup owes me something, but what I’m sure of is that sooner or later the moment will come. I prefer it to be sooner rather than later, but someday it will come.
I don’t see myself playing until I’m 38, year by year and see how far I get
Was losing last year in the official farewell of his idol Rafael Nadal at the Martin Carpena in Malaga one of the saddest days of his professional career?
It was very hard and sad at the same time. I gave my point in the singles, but I also played the doubles and I feel responsible for not being able to advance. It was a very difficult moment. But it was harder to lose the doubles at the Olympic Games in Paris with him than the Davis Cup.
Was the Olympic defeat one of the saddest moments?
Yes, without a doubt. I was very down after the game.
She has six Grand Slam titles at just 22 years of age. Does she have room to sit at the table of the ‘Big Three’ of the racket?R.
I’m not even close. I’m not even close.
I talk to my psychologist when I feel the need to vent, thank God since Miami I have not had that feeling
You are one of the most recognized sportsmen today, wherever you go. What is the best and worst thing about fame?
The best thing is that it opens many doors to meet idols, to meet very important people, to be able to visit and go to places that you could never go. The downside is that you can’t be as calm as you would like. I am a very natural and close person and the fact of going for a walk I see it as something very normal and I can’t do it without someone stopping you, without someone recognizing you, without feeling observed… I think that’s the worst thing about fame.
You’ve been working with the American multinational Nike –the brand that has dressed and shod you since 2020– about your personalized clothing line. Will we be able to see it next season?We are working on it, we are looking at how to do it, but I am confident that next year we will have something.There has been a lot of speculation about what symbol will identify you. Will the three Cs of your grandfather, head, heart and balls, appear in any way?
No, that has not been in the plan at any time.
You were one of the lucky ones to see from the front row of the Philippe Chatrier the tribute that the Roland Garros organization paid to Nadal for his brilliant career in the French Open. He has 14 crowns in the French Open. Can you describe how you experienced it? Did it give you goosebumps?
It gave me goosebumps because it was a very exciting moment as well as a beautiful one, as he deserved. With Roger, with Novak and with Andy. The videos, Roland Garros, the plaque. The farewell was magnificent.
I would like a farewell like Rafa’s at Roland Garros because it will mean that I deserved it
Would you like a farewell like that at the end of your career?Yes, obviously I would like that, because it will mean that I have deserved it throughout my career. Everyone gets what they deserve and Rafa got what he deserved.Toni Nadal, Rafa’s uncle and mentor with recognized prestige in the men’s circuit, says that there should be changes in tennis so that the ball is not hit so hard. He talks about reducing the size of the rackets. Do you buy that idea?
It would be like going a step backwards. Tennis started with wooden rackets, then moved to metal rackets, aluminum rackets and now we have other types of rackets that allow you to do more effects. Before, the game was played more flat, more cut, without so much speed. Over the years, in Rafa’s time it was already played faster than before and now even more. We can’t go against evolution. We have to be physically prepared for the speed at which we are playing. I would say I don’t buy the idea.
He started his successful career at a very young age. He is the youngest number 1. Do you plan to play until you are 38 years old like the legends Nadal and Djokovic?
No, at the moment I don’t see myself. I prefer to go year by year to see how far my body can go. And, above all, if I have the motivation and the desire. I don’t think about whether I’m going to make it to 33 or 38. I’m going to take care of myself so that my career is as long as possible
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