Carlos Alcaraz, number one in the world, recognizedafter beating Lajovic that it is “incredible” to see so many celebrities in the stands watching their matches and that sometimes he even gets “a little nervous”, after advancing steadily to the round of 16 of the Masters 1,000 in Miami before the gaze of the star NBA Jimmy Butler.
“I love seeing celebrities watching me. It’s amazing, I feel a little nervous when I see people like Jimmy, or celebrities, like at the US Open. Sometimes I can’t believe that these people are watching my matches, it’s crazy “said Alcaraz at the press conference after the match won by 6-0 and 7-6 (5) to the Serbian Dusan Lajovic.
It’s amazing, I feel a little nervous when I see people like Jimmy, or celebrities, watching me at a game.
A difficult challenge awaits him in the round of 16, a Tommy Paul who eliminated Alejandro Davidovich this Sunday and who has a twelve-game winning streak against Spanish players. Besides, Paul won the only precedent against Alcaraz, last year in Montreal.
“I lost the first and only match I played against Tommy, I know he is a very talented player, a top player, I have to play my best tennis and see what happens on Tuesday,” said Alcaraz.
“I watched a lot of his matches, I like watching him play. He’s very talented, he makes things look simple and I like watching these players. He’s doing very well, he’s fast, he hits hard with the forehand and backhand. I like playing these matches, it will be tough and I am certainly going to enjoy it,” he added.
After getting rid of the Argentine Facundo Bagnis in 62 minutes, Alcaraz defeated Lajovic with solvency 6-0 and 7-6(5), with a new excellent start and some small indecisions in the second set from which he came out with authority in the tiebreaker.
“When I served at 5-4 I made some mistakes that changed the game. I missed a few shots with the backhand and that was a bit the key to making it a tight match at the end. But I kept my concentration,” he considered.
Alcaraz will play the round of 16 in Miami this Tuesday, in a tournament in which he defends the title won in 2022.
