Madrid (Spain) – Champion of the last two editions of the Masters 1000 in Madrid, Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz knows that it will not be easy for him to achieve his third successive victory. Starting with his lack of rhythm, as this will be his first tournament of the year on clay. Furthermore, he has great rivals in the dispute, highlighting Jannik Sinner and the hot Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
“They are in a very good moment. They are in top form after finishing in two major clay tournaments. They feel confident and for me that is the most important thing, having the confidence that we will play at a good level”, commented the home tennis player about Ruud and Tsitsipas, who faced each other in the last two finals, with the Greek winning the title in Monte Carlo. and Norwegian in Barcelona.
“But Sinner is also there at a very good time and there are players who can put you in trouble, especially in Madrid with the altitude. You have to know how to adapt. The two of them and Sinner are now the players to beat on earth”, added Alcaraz, putting the current world number 2 in the spotlight.
The Spaniard spoke a little more about Sinner’s great start to the season. “He is dangerous, he is the best player in the world at the moment. They think his tennis doesn’t suit clay well, but he also had results on clay. He can win every tournament he plays in and obviously I’m fighting with him and Novak (Djokovic) to be number 1 in the world”, he noted.
Before making his debut on Madrid’s clay, the young tennis player participated in the Laureus awards ceremony, handing Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham the 2023 Newcomer of the Year trophy. “Honestly, I didn’t feel comfortable on stage. I was so nervous,” said Alcaraz, when asked if he was feeling more comfortable hanging out with other global stars.
“I practiced that speech during the week almost 50 times just to make sure it was perfect. My legs were shaking. Honestly, I’m not used to giving speeches to sports legends and that kind of people. It was a great experience, a beautiful moment for me to present the award to Jude, for whom I have a lot of respect and who is a tremendous athlete”, concluded the Spaniard.
