Spanish Tennis Star Carlos Alcaraz Aims for Olympic Gold and Rio Open Victory

The Spanish Carlos Alcaraz, second in the ATP world ranking, stated this Monday that one of his goals this year is to win gold at the Paris 2024 Games and that he wants to emulate the Scot Andy Murray and have at least two Olympic titles. “Murray has won two golds (2012 and 2016). Winning two gold medals in the Olympic Games is something incredible. I hope one day I can have two golds like Murray,” said the man from Murcia in a press conference in Rio de Janeiro, where this week he is competing in the Open of this Brazilian city.

Alcaraz stated that although all tournaments are important, the possibility of winning a medal for Spain in the Olympic Games is “even more special.” The former world number one assured that his goal of competing in the Games does not change his plans for this year’s season or his training at all and that his intention is to achieve as many titles as possible.

“The title in the Olympic Games is a very good and special goal, but I also want to win other tournaments and other Grand Slams. That’s why I have to be focused on the upcoming tournaments and we’ll see when the Olympic Games get closer,” said the winner of the United States Open in 2022 and Wimbledon in 2023.

About Sinner: “I need to be at my 100%”

Alcaraz also stated that one of his goals is to win the Rio de Janeiro Open again, a tournament that he won in 2022 and in which he was a finalist in 2023, since this Brazilian city opened several doors for him and marked the beginning of his successful career. The Murcian, who debuts this Tuesday against the local Thiago Monteiro (not before 11:00 p.m.), recalled that he played the Brazilian tournament for the first time in 2020, when he was an unknown youth player and received a special invitation from the organizers, and that He took advantage of that opportunity to win his first match in an ATP competition. The Rio Open in 2022 was also his first title in an ATP 500.

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“I faced him some time ago, in 2021, and lost to him in our first match. But I know his style and his game. I know that he has extra motivation for competing in Brazil and in front of his fans in Rio de Janeiro and that is why I have to be prepared for a difficult match,” said the Spaniard about Monteiro, against whom he has accumulated a victory and a loss in two matches. played in 2021. “I faced him some time ago, in 2021, and I lost against him in our first match. But I know his style and I play it. I know that he has extra motivation for competing in Brazil and in front of his audience in Rio de Janeiro and that is why I have to be prepared for a difficult match,” he added.

He added that he has to improve a lot compared to what he did at the Buenos Aires Open, where he was eliminated in the semifinals on Saturday by the Chilean Nicolás Jarry. “I have to improve many things. “I am hitting the ball well and my game is good, but in some difficult moments, when the nerves spoke louder, Jarry did better than me,” he noted. And he also spoke about what, at the moment, seems to be his generational rival, the Italian Jannik Sinner: “I am very happy with the way Sinner has been playing and winning tournaments. I need to get back to being at my 100% every day, if I want to be at that level (of Sinner), since he is at his best moment,” he analyzed.

2024-02-19 21:03:29
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