Buenos Aires-. The summer of 2024 brings two events to the banks of the Seine, both special. And between Paris and Paris, Carlos Alcaraz prefers the golden Paris, that of the Olympic gold. “For me it is a dream to bring Olympic gold to my country“said the Spaniard this Monday in Buenos Aires, who has a pending score with the French capital since the defeat in the Roland Garros semifinals against the Serbian Novak Djokovic in June 2023.
What would you choose to win this year, Roland Garros or the Olympic Games? The question at the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires, where he defends the title, made the 20-year-old Spaniard smile: “I would say the Olympic title. For me it is a dream to take the gold to my country, to Spain. And gold is one of the greatest things in sports in general. So I would prefer to win Olympic gold this year. Although I would win both, I’m not going to lie to you.”
If it comes to choosing a Grand Slam title, Alcaraz, already a champion at the US Open and Wimbledon, does not favor French clay either. “I don’t care if it’s Roland Garros, Australia or any other. I am very excited to win it, at Roland Garros I was already in the semis and I hope this year to improve that result. I don’t feel like I have to win it, that I have that thorn in me. But it’s a dream to win it.”
Despite the lackluster defeat he suffered in January against German Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, Alcaraz offered an optimistic version of his moment. “My current level is very good, I am playing with a lot of confidence, at a good level. “I come from playing good tennis in Australia, my days of training on land have been very good, I am physically at a very high level.”
“I have always been very ambitious, wanting to win at everything, that is what drives me to continue at the highest level“. On a day of high humidity and after a night and morning of intense rain, Alcaraz spoke of those subtle, but important details, in which he still must work to reach his maximum level.
“Some small things I have improved. The off-piste is very important and influences the on-piste, that is something I am improving. Very important for the issue of injuries is nutrition, rest, etc. Something that perhaps before, which is logical given my age, escaped me a little and I didn’t do it. Little by little we are improving. Those little things off the track prevent injuries for sure, it’s something I keep in mind for this year.”
The world number two believes that the Serbian Novak Djokovic and the Italian Jannik Sinner are today one step above the other rivals. “They are the rivals to beat. For me and for everyone. And Zverev, who has the head to head advantage against me. But Djokovic and Sinner are at the top right now.”
“I don’t think it’s bad that Nadal is the ambassador of Saudi Arabia”
Carlos Alcaraz
Alcaraz is in favor of men’s tennis reaching Saudi Arabia and for the desert kingdom, a strong dictatorship, to become a stable stop on the circuit. “It is good for tennis that there are more venues, that the countries where we go and where we play are opening up. Arabia is a country that is evolving very quickly in every way, in the world of sports there are many events there.. Football, now a lot of tennis. It’s good for sports in general. “I don’t know how far we’ll go, but it’s sure to be evolving,” he responded to Clay’s question.
Although he is aware of the criticism of Rafael Nadal for having signed as an ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation, Alcaraz does not share it. “I’ve heard people say they’ve been criticizing him. Well, Rafa has decided to be an ambassador, I personally don’t think it’s bad, he has signed as a tennis ambassador. It is a country that is developing, it is better for Rafa to get there to expand the world of tennis to places where it was never played before. “We players try to attract more people to watch tennis and there is no better person than Rafa to achieve that.”
Alcaraz demonstrated himself as an emphatic defender of the South American tour on clay, which chains four tournaments: Córdoba, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Santiago de Chile. “It’s true that last year I came because he didn’t have any games, because he couldn’t play in Australia, he hadn’t competed for a while. That it comes this year is for a good reason, because I loved it. It is a very nice tournament, the people are wonderful, it was an incredible tournament and I wanted to return this year. “The vibes here are special.”
“To those who are in Europe, especially those who have not played the South American tour, I would say to have the experience of playing in Buenos Aires, in Rio. It will not disappoint you.” Alcaraz, accompanied on this tour by his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, who was not in Australiabelieves that the tournament in the Argentine capital has reasons to be promoted in category, from being a 250 to becoming a 500.
“Compared to last year there has been a huge change for the better. Last year I didn’t see it for a 500, but this year, yes. The facilities have improved a lot. The track is very good, the organization in general is very, very good, very helpful and attentive to everything, everything is always available. The people here are very involved, they are very involved in tennis, that is appreciated. I wouldn’t be surprised if this tournament becomes a 500.”
Buenos Aires, 1971. Although outside of sports topics he has an intense journalistic life, Sebastián Fest fell in love with journalism covering sports. And he is still in love. Former head of Sports for the German agency DPA and the Argentine newspaper “La Nación”, he covered all the soccer World Cups since 1998 and all the Olympic Games since 1996, in addition to more than 60 Grand Slam tournaments in tennis. Author of ‘Neither king nor god’ and ‘Messiánico’, biographies of Lionel Messi, and of ‘Sin red’, a journey of more than a decade around the world following Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. He was co-president of the International Tennis Journalists Association (ITWA), which brings together the one hundred most influential journalists in the world. Founder of CLAY (claytenis.com), a site in English and Spanish specialized in tennis and with global reach, he was also Chief Editor of the site Around the Rings, specialized in high sports politics. In addition to Spanish, he is fluent in German, English and Portuguese reasonably well. …
2024-02-12 21:17:58
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