TENNIS
Carlos Alcaraz: next stop, Rome
The Spanish superstar, who retained his titles in Barcelona and Madrid, will play in Rome too, which will take him back to the top of the ATP rankings.
The CarlosMania doesn’t stop. Carlos Alcaraz will travel from Madrid to Rome to play the ATP 1000 tournament in the Italian capital to come back to the world No.1 spot in the rankings and try to win his 11th singles title.
Alcaraz, who beat Alexander Zverev in the Madrid Open final last year, successfully defended the title after defeating another German player, Jan-Lennard Struff, who proved to be a tougher opponent but ended up losing in three sets.
Alcaraz spent 20 weeks as world No. 1 after winning the US Open in September and became the youngest player in tennis history to reach the ATP men’s singles top spot. In the meantime, Novak Djokovic overtook him on the list but the Murcia native will take it back from him once he plays in Rome.
After his victory in Madrid, Carlitos admitted he wants to take advantage of his current form rather than stop before Roland Garros.
“These are very big things I’m doing, and I’m very proud of my work and of these accomplishments. I am ambitious, and we’ll try and go for Rome”, he said after lifting the trophy in Madrid.
“The mental issue of getting tired of winning, traveling, or playing tennis, doesn’t worry me because I know it’s not going to happen. What may worry me in the future is the issue of injuries, which is what we are going to try to take care of together with my team”, he added.
Alcaraz, better than Federer and Nadal
The Murcia native, with a record of 10-3 in the finals he has played so far, will compete in the Italian Open for the first time.
“I don’t know how it’s going to be, Rome. I don’t know the feelings over there, but for sure I’m going to enjoy that tournament. Of course, it’s great to play in front of the Italian crowd”, Alcaraz said.
Alcaraz has impressed the tennis community with his skillset. Bjorn Borg stated that Alcaraz will be No. 1 for many years and recently former tennis player Andy Roddick also shared his thoughts on the Spaniard’s talent.
“I’m not a victim of hyperbole, so I’m not saying this just because he won a match today, but I think he’s the most complete 19-year-old male tennis player that I’ve ever seen”, Roddick admitted to Tennis Channel.
“Roger didn’t win his first major until he was 21, Rafa won at 17, but he wasn’t great on all surfaces until he was maybe 20-21-22″, the 2003 US Open winner added.
While Rafa Nadal has decided not to play in Rome before featuring at the French Open, Djokovic will compete at Foro Italico. It will be a good opportunity to see if the 22-time major champion has fully recovered from his injury and how far he can go in the tournament.