Carlos Alcaraz Captivating Chinese Fans on Asian Tour

Carlos Alcaraz at a press conference in Shanghai (REUTERS/Aly Song)

Carlos Alcaraz has already won over the Chinese public to the cause. On the first Asian tour of his career, the world number two has conquered the fans of one of the most populated countries in the world. He achieved it in Beijing, where he declared, during the ATP 500 in the capital: “It’s wonderful to hear the local public shouting my name and saying things in Spanish, like ‘Come on, Carlitos!’, ‘I love you, Carlos!’. These are things that, honestly, we did not expect.” Not content with this, the Spaniard also causes a sensation in Shanghai, in whose Masters 1000 he debuts this Saturday.

Before his first match in the tournament, Alcaraz took a mass bath that perfectly reflects the affection that the Chinese fans have come to show him. This took place during one of his training sessions, in which he delighted the crowd when he began to practice one of the shots that he masters the most and best in tennis: the drop shot.

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Alcaraz, in full service (REUTERS/Florence Lo)

With a bucket on the other side of the net, Carlitos began to throw drop shots, with the goal of getting one of the balls into the container. Each of his attempts was cheered with sounds of admiration from the respectable person. The applause, of considerable decibels, was total when Alcaraz ‘scored’. All the followers who experienced the moment live, cell phone in hand, were the living image of effusiveness.

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Watch until the end ????

Drop shot practice with @carlosalcaraz at the #RolexShanghaiMasters! pic.twitter.com/cd76BOd7Wv

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 6, 2023

The Murcian’s debut in Shanghai will be against Frenchman Gregoire Barrere, 73rd in the ranking. By overcoming the first round against the Portuguese Nuno Borges (double 6-2), the team has determined that it will face Alcaraz, with whom it has not faced on any occasion to date. The third rounds in Miami and Rome are his best results in Masters 1000 tournaments.

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As for Alcaraz, he has just made the semifinals in Beijing, where one of his great rivals, the Italian Jannik Sinner, defeated him (7-6, 6-1) before becoming champion. The one from El Palmar could only meet him again in a hypothetical final, and the same thing happens with the Russian Daniil Medvedev, who has qualified for the third round by beating the Chilean Cristian Garín (double 6-3).

Novak Djokovic is also not in the game at the Shanghai Masters 1000. The ATP number one, who he won four times there, has decided not to go through China on this occasion. Hence Alcaraz’s objective of cutting off the maximum number of points possible in the classification, before his paths can cross again.

Carlos Alcaraz in a recent match (EFE/EPA/MARK R. CRISTINO)

At this time, Alcaraz has a balance of 61 victories and just eight defeats in 2023, with six titles (including his first Wimbledon) and more than 9.5 million dollars in prize money (almost 9 million euros) this season . He is only 20 years old, but everything seems to indicate that he has reached the elite to stay.

2023-10-07 10:59:00
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