“You have to take the hat, you have to take it! I am about maintaining the routine of what has gone well for me, about repeating, so…”.
The day after conquering Roland Garros and thus closing the circle of the three tennis surfaces, dirt, grass and cement, Carlos Alcaraz (El Palmar, Murcia; 21 years old) wears an elegant black suit and speaks with a raspy voice. It’s noon and the French great champion is talking with a group of special envoys, including EL PAÍS, after the traditional posing with the trophy in a session that took place in different rooms of the Philippe Chatrier. He maintains his usual close, friendly and receptive tone. Success, those who know him well say, has not changed him. Carlos is still Carlitos. Superstitious, as always. Before heading to the airport to return home, he assures that he will recover the fetish accessory that he wore last year at Wimbledon. In the case of Paris, luck has been in the form of a compression sleeve.
“Yesterday I celebrated with my family, with the people who came from Murcia, with my friends. We went to dinner and obviously I did everything I couldn’t do during the tournament; I ate what I wasn’t eating, now that I’m dealing with the gluten issue… Well, yesterday I let my hair down and got carried away a little. We had to toast with some champagne, because it was the occasion, but then I left early. And today, well, on a cloud,” introduces the tennis player, who continues to break records for precocity and is heading towards the sphere of the chosen ones despite his youth. He is compared to nothing more and nothing less than Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. But is he better than the three giants were at his age?
“A year ago I saw some videos, some highlights [momentos destacados], but I don’t remember well, to be honest. So I can’t compare myself to them. But, as I always say, it doesn’t matter what I have achieved at this age if I stagnate here. In the end, I want to continue in the race, I want to continue growing and get to where they are, the good ones, the cracks; They have continued to improve and improve until they reach 37 or 38″, he points out. And, although it is far away, do you see yourself competing at that age? “Why not?” Answers the Murcian, who continues to receive praise and who has chosen an alternative route to stardom. There is no shortage of work, sweat and routines, but, he says, life is more than tennis and training. Learn to decompress, know how to take a breath.
It doesn’t matter what I have achieved at this age if I stagnate here; I want to continue improving and growing
“You have to enjoy these types of moments. After all the suffering that winning this type of trophies requires, it is important to combine it with enjoyment. In the end, I am 21 years old and I am still getting to know myself, knowing what I need, how to do or not do things,” he answers; “I’m realizing that you have to combine working and suffering with those days of rest, with that, I’m going to say, freedom to do what you like; You don’t feel like a tennis player, right? Feeling that you are a kid, a normal person. I think it helps you isolate yourself a little and clear your mind and then get back on track 100%. After these moments, after winning tournaments, you have to know how to enjoy them with your people and take advantage of them.”
When choosing an image, he is left with the heartfelt hug he gave with his family in the box, because, he emphasizes, it is about living the moments with his people. He insists that “to last 16 or 17 years up there,” like the greats, the fundamental thing “is the head.” This is how Roland Garros has taken over. “Last year I clearly failed that subject, but this year we came with our homework done and I passed it; “Not with registration, because I have to continue growing and improving, but I think a very good job has been done this last year,” continues the one from El Palmar, who tackled this last challenge in complex circumstances: with little filming, and pending the arm.
“After Madrid [donde se compite a tres sets, no a cinco] I noticed it, and that makes you a little uncertain,” he admits. “But here, as the rounds went by I no longer noticed any pain, so in the semifinals [contra el italiano Jannik Sinner, el nuevo número uno en detrimento de Novak Djokovic] I decided that I no longer had to be self-conscious about hitting the forehand at 80 or 90%. It was not time to be afraid, but to trust and forget everything.” He acknowledges, however, that he went through some phases of anguish, “because in the end, you use your forearm [la zona afectada] for all. I have a lot of speed and a lot of strength, so he suffers a lot and I was very worried to think that maybe I wouldn’t be able to recover 100%.”
Alcaraz says that he cries more “out of frustration than out of happiness,” and that the injury made him shed tears a couple of times when he had to sacrifice some tournaments that he was particularly excited about, such as the Godó. He also gave up Monte Carlo and Rome because, sometimes, a timely break can be the best preparatory strategy. In any case, he managed to overcome the fear phase and conquered Paris. Old dream. “I watch the videos from when I was little, under the Eiffel Tower, and I am living a dream, because this tournament is super special for me. Whether it is the third or the tenth, I will continue to live it like the first,” he continues.
“Life is not a bed of roses, you have to deal with little things, but I consider myself a very happy boy”
Now he will enjoy a few days in Murcia and then, if nothing goes wrong, because the grass is a treacherous territory and the adaptation to the grass and the balls (harder, extra load for the elbow) usually entail some physical toll, he will compete in Queen’s and Wimbledon before returning to Chatrier to compete in his first Olympic Games. And given the choice, today he prioritizes Olympic gold. “It is complicated, but in the end it is every four years and you not only play for yourself, but for your country and for all Spaniards,” says this young man who transmits good vibes, as does his environment, healthy and familiar to him. . Life smiles at you.
“Well, it’s not always a bed of roses, neither the professional issue nor the personal issue. Sometimes you have to deal with little things that happen, but at the moment I consider myself a very happy person, both in my sporting life, where for now everything is going very well, and in my personal life. At the moment we don’t have any big concerns outside of tennis; So, that also helps to live comfortably and peacefully. At the moment I am very happy and very happy, especially also for having the people I have around me and for being able to enjoy this moment with them,” Alcaraz resolves.
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