“It is a pride to be Spanish, but above all Murcian”, declares the tennis player from El Palmar, who will receive the highest distinction granted by the Community
After conquering Madrid and sixth place in the ATP ranking, Carlos Alcaraz is already the present and future of Spanish and Murcian tennis. Yesterday he was received in San Esteban by President López Miras, who announced that on June 9, the tennis player from El Palmar will become the youngest person to receive the Gold Medal of the Region.
López Miras thanked the tennis player from El Palmar for everything he is doing for the Region and stressed that “to be a champion you have to win a tournament, but to make history you have to win the hearts of the people. And you are making history.
The sixth best tennis player in the world was once again grateful to those who follow him and are supporting him. He still has a long way to go, but Alcaraz, who is already an idol of the masses, continues to have his feet on the ground. “I am a simple person, my family and my team are the ones who keep me grounded, I am still a 19-year-old boy,” he said.
guillermo carrion / agm
The tennis player from El Palmar will become the youngest person to collect the Gold Medal of the Region. He will do it on the 40th anniversary of the highest distinction granted by the Community. In this regard, he said that “for me it is an honor and I will always take her with me in every tournament and in every country I go to.” Despite his strong emergence in world tennis in just one year, Alcaraz is still not aware of what he is capable of exciting tennis fans: “I imagined a stir, but not of such magnitude.”
The young tennis player thanked all Murcians for their support in recent weeks. In this regard, he made it clear that “although playing is focused on the game, in the final in Madrid I got goosebumps every time I heard fans shout ‘Viva Murcia’ from the stands.”
The reactions
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of his land
“I feel very proud to be Spanish, but above all to be from Murcia. I will take the name of El Palmar to every country I go to” -
Alcaraz School
“I don’t rule it out, but I still have many years to think about those things” -
The goal at Roland Garros
“My goal is to win in Paris; I see myself qualified to achieve a Grand Slam there» -
A rival to face
«I would like to play with all the tennis players on the circuit because you learn something from everyone. Perhaps I would be excited about Roger Federer, because he is the only one I have left from the ‘Big Three’ »
And it is that Carlos Alcaraz never tires of repeating that he is proud to be from Murcia, as he captured it on a television camera after beating Zverev in the final of the Madrid Open on Sunday. Yesterday he stressed it again in San Esteban: «I feel very proud to be Spanish, but above all to be from Murcia. I will carry the name of El Palmar to each country I go to, the place where I grew up. It is important to know where you come from.
The acknowledgments gave way to questions and the tennis player spoke about his present and future on the circuit. The fashionable tennis player acknowledged that he is proud to be in the news, “since I haven’t been there for more than a year, I am the news for everyone and I feel very happy about it.”
After climbing abruptly in the ATP ranking to sixth position, the Murcian explained that he does not have any favorite player to compete with in the near future. In this regard, he said that “I would like to play with all the tennis players on the circuit because you learn something from everyone. Perhaps I would be excited about Federer, because he is the only one I have left from the ‘Big Three’».
Your roadmap to Roland Garros
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Flight to Paris on the 19th
Carlos Alcaraz will fly to Paris on Thursday May 19 with enough time to adapt to the game conditions before his debut. The first day of competition at Roland Garros will be held on the 22nd. -
Avoid the favorites until the quarters
On the same May 19, the individual table of the Parisian Grand Slam is raffled. Alcaraz, currently the sixth best player in the world, is one of 32 seeds in the running and will therefore avoid the favorites until the third round. From the quarterfinals he could touch any of the contenders for the title. -
Alcaraz and Nadal, in the same hotel
The Murcian tennis player and the rest of his team will stay in a hotel in the center of Paris, next to the Champs Elysées, where he will meet Rafa Nadal, whom he defeated last Friday for the first time in the Mutua Madrid Open quarterfinals . -
He is one of the favourites, along with Rafa and Djokovic
The pupil of Juan Carlos Ferrero, one of the most fit tennis players of the moment, appears as one of the favorites for the title in the French capital, along with the Balearic Rafa Nadal and the Serbian Novak Djokovic. Carlos Alcaraz has won four titles this season and is also the tennis player with the most wins in 2022. But the most striking thing is that in those four tournaments won, two in the ATP 500 category and two Masters 1000, he has not lost a single only set. -
Will play at Queen’s to prepare for Wimbledon
Carlos Alcaraz will play only one official tournament, the Queen’s Open 500, from June 13 to 19, to prepare for Wimbledon (June 27 to July 10), a tournament that he likes and is particularly attracted by its elegance.
With Roland Garros in mind, Carlos Alcaraz will spend a few days recovering from his ankle discomfort and preparing for the biggest challenge of his career: achieving a Grand Slam. «I think my goal is to get Roland Garros; I see myself capable of winning it.” He also spoke about the ankle problem that has prevented him from traveling to Rome to get fit before traveling to Paris. «The key is to pretend that you are not bad, although the reality is that after the demanding matches that I have played, it is time to work to reach the tournaments in the best possible way».
Comparison with Nadal
Alcaraz has managed in just a few months to create a personal brand at the height of the greatest. That is why the comparison with Rafa Nadal, one of the best players in history and idol of the young Murcian tennis player, is inevitable. «If they compare you with Nadal it is because you are doing things well. But comparing yourself to him is not good, since he is the player with the biggest titles in history ». ‘Charlie’, as he likes to be called, wants to write his name at the top and, as he stressed in San Esteban, “I don’t consider myself the new Nadal. I am the new Carlitos. Well, the new Carlitos does not set limits and he does not rule out becoming the best tennis player in the world in the coming years: “If I continue working like this, I think I will see myself as number one.”
After his appearance before the media, Carlos Alcaraz had time to be with the future tennis players of the Region and tennis fans, to take photos and sign autographs. He did not want to leave the opportunity to dedicate a few words of motivation: «You have to be clear that the first thing is studies and the second thing is to enjoy tennis».
Djokovic wins in Rome
On the other hand, Djokovic yesterday won the Russian Aslán Karátsev (6-3 and 6-2) at the Masters 1000 in Rome. Nadal faces American John Isner today.
Younger tennis players already have Carlitos as an idol and reference
Regional tennis promises waited at the door of the Palacio de San Esteban for their new idol. After his appearance before the media, Carlos Alcaraz had time for the little ones, who were anxiously awaiting the opportunity for his idol to sign a ball, a shirt or their game shoes. Dozens of young apprentices from different tennis schools throughout the Region of Murcia gathered to share time with their greatest tennis reference today. This was the case of Javier Caballero (11 years old), from the Real Murcia Tennis Club, who had the opportunity to tell Carlos: «I love how you play tennis and congratulations for everything». For Javier, as for more and more people who are fans of the racket, «Alcaraz is the best tennis player in the world».
Javier Hernández, also a 10-year-old tennis club player from the Murcian capital, was also present at the reception for Carlos Alcaraz and was lucky enough to have his shirt signed by the sixth best player in the world. “I want to be like him when I grow up. If he could, he would tell him », Javier said excitedly.
Miguel Urionabarenechea, 12 years old and from the same club, came equipped with the MCT clothing. He says that he did not think twice about going to San Esteban so that Alcaraz could sign a ball for him. «For me Carlos Alcaraz is a machine, I want to be like him».
In just one year, the pupil of Juan Carlos Ferrero has been able to launch his career in a stratospheric way and with a precociousness worthy of the greatest. For this reason, the little ones want to follow in the footsteps of the one who has become their new idol and, if nothing goes wrong, it will continue to be so for a long time.
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