Carlos Alcaraz: "Maybe I felt a little pressure"

Carlos Alcaraz recognized that “the pressure” may have weighed on him in part to explain the blackout suffered in the second set against Soonwoo Kwon on his debut in Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell-Conde de Godó Trophyfinally resolved by victory by 6-1, 2-6 and 6-2.

“To play Spain It’s always special and more at this club, where I’ve played since I was little. This is a very, very special contest. You may have felt that little bit of pressure, in quotes, to play with it and you want to do well. The 6-1, 2-0, the other one, I will also play to hit and let go and I had a hard time getting into that game. I was skeptical and it affected me, “Carlos Alcaraz explained to Teledeporte.

“This is tennis and anything can happen. I started very well, Kwon couldn’t see the goal, but then he let go, I was a bit skeptical and I had a hard time getting back into the fight. In the third set I knew how to reset and it went well it’s for me. When I lost in the second set, it didn’t occur to me that I had to win or that I was obligated to win, but instead I had to reverse the situation and play again as in the first “The Murcian added later in his press conference.

“I don’t quite know what makes up my name or my game, but because of today’s environment, I know better. We know there will be a lot of people who have high expectations of me, but I don’t have to pay attention. all. the expectations and I need to focus on my game “, he insisted in his recipe for handling the pressure that plagues any sports figure.

“I’m very happy to get my first victory at the Godó, it’s a very special tournament for me, I’ve seen it since I was very little and I feel very lucky to win here,” said Carlos, an RCT Player Barcelona for many years.

“This victory is very special, I have great memories, here I won tournaments and played championships for this club. I have great friends and seeing them again and playing in front of them is very special for me,” said Murcian, who will face Jaume Munar this Thursday in the round of 16.

“We’re pretty familiar with each other, we’re 1-1 in ‘head to head’ and it’s going to be a tough fight. Jaume is a great player, very tough on the ground and I’m facing a fight that’s going to be a great fight ”, Alcaraz said.

Carlos also remembers the first time he hit the ball Pablo Carreno as his ‘sparring’ before the Asturian’s debut in 2017 Masters against Dominic Thiem. Carreño hallucinated that day with him, when he was only 14 years old.

“I’ve known Pablito since he was 14 years old and since then we’ve been very close, for me he’s like an older brother on the circuit. That was one of the best warm-ups of my life, it’s like I’ve been. I’m going to play Masters“, Alcaraz smiled about that experience at o2 arena london.

The Murcia man also remembers the first time he played ball David Ferrer (“I was 14-15 years old, I was super excited and I almost won a tiebreak”) and has quoted Rafael Nadal, Andrew Rublev Y Felix Auger-Aliassime as three tennis players who have greatly affected him by sharing training sessions.

“Right now, it’s hard for me to surprise myself, but I’ll say that the first time the ones that surprised me the most were Rafa, Rublev and Felix because they trained with 200% intensity, hitting every shot that That’s the way to train “, Alcaraz said briefly when asked about the veto of Wimbledon Russian and Belarusian tennis players.

“It’s been a difficult time for everyone and hopefully it will be resolved soon,” Murcian said. A few hours before, Pablo Carreño explained the subject further.

“Hopefully the Russians can play because the war is over and everything is back to normal. To all the players I’ve talked to, like Khachanov either rublevThey had already said they were against the war, they obviously had nothing to do with it. The situation is very complicated and people who have nothing to do with it also suffer. I don’t know if the decision was right or not, but hopefully the war is over, “Carreño said.