On the eve of his debut in the Miami Masters 1000, this Friday against the Argentine Facundo Bagnis at a time to be determined, Carlos Alcaraz has written a letter that has been published in the Players’ Voice space of the Eurosport website. In it, the Murcian tennis player has explained how he has been recovering from the two injuries that have kept him off the court for more than 100 days and has revealed his most imminent goals and his hopes for the future.
“I want to write my own story. I want to win Grand Slams. I’m ambitious with my goals, I’m not going to lie. My dream is to be one of the best in history and try to get closer to Djokovic and Nadal. I know it will be very complicated and perhaps impossible, but in this world you have to think and dream big,” confesses the player from El Palmar.
Alcaraz has already become a true idol of the masses and in the United States, where people adore him almost from day one, he is the favorite tennis player of most racquet sport fans. His way of being, natural and spontaneous, is a great help. The Murcian is happy playing and transmits that happiness to everyone around him. «At the end of my career I want to be remembered as a good person. That is the most important. Playing with instinct and joy are two pillars of my game. If I didn’t play with instinct and joy, my tennis wouldn’t be the same. I think life is better that way and that’s the most important thing. And being someone that kids look up to is a hopeful thing for me. I try to transmit good values on and off the track. I also have my role models and being one of them for the new generation would be wonderful”, admits Carlitos.
“Strange and Beautiful Strokes”
“I try not to think that I am a sports icon or a role model for young people. I want to continue improving my tennis. In the end, I love playing tennis and obviously I want to win and be a competitive guy. I have my own identity playing and I always try to be happy playing tennis. I consider myself a happy person off the court and that’s why I try to play that way as well. I think that today tennis is very dynamic: climbs to the net, drop shots and big shots, and that attracts attention. I try to enjoy myself on the track and not make everything so monotonous. I try to create and perform strange and beautiful shots », explains the Murcian in his letter.
Alcaraz insists that he wants to follow his own path, without imitating anyone, but admits that he has looked to Nadal and Djokovic when it comes to motivating himself to return to the competition in the best possible shape, after the two injuries he has recently suffered. «I have thought a lot about Nadal while he was recovering from my injury. It often happens that when the best players have been gone a long time, they win their first tournament on his return, and he wanted to be one of those players. Those examples of success in his return have motivated me, like what Rafa did at the 2022 Australian Open, and when Djokovic has returned after his absence, he has won important tournaments. They are examples that inspire you and you think ‘I’m going to train again’ because I also want to come back as best as I can to try to win”, he says.
Carlitos returns this Friday to the competition in a Masters 1000 in Miami in which he defends the title he achieved last year. For this reason, he needs to win the tournament again to retain his number 1. «In Miami I have to start defending many points. I think about it subconsciously because you want to be at the top of the rankings but together with my team we always say that the most important thing is the race to the Nitto ATP Finals. If you have a great year in the ‘Race’, you will end up at the top of the ranking”, indicates Alcaraz, who sets a clear challenge for himself for 2023. “My goal for this year is to win a Grand Slam and more Masters 1000 tournaments”, he assures number 1 on the ATP circuit.
“He did bad things”
In the text published by Carlos Alcaraz in Eurosport’s Players’ Voice, the world number 1 admits that during his period off due to injury he realized that “he did many things wrong off the track”. The tennis player from El Palmar refers to issues of «rest, nutritional supplements, eating well… There are a number of things that he perhaps did not do well. Since the injury, I learned that I had to get back to the routine I had and do everything right to do my best. I am doing it from now on and it is not a secret that, when you do things well, the results come », highlights Alcaraz who has also recounted his passion for sneakers. He was “blown away” after visiting the Nike factory in Oregon.
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