It happened a year ago and the scene repeats itself: Alcaraz arrived, the noise arrived. At 19 years old and in true Beatle style, the Murcian shakes and agitates the Pedralbes neighborhood, where enthusiastic fans attend the parade of the latest phenomenon, who defends the title won last year and continues his own; from the start, 6-3 and 6-1 to the Portuguese Nuno Borges, surpassed in 63 minutes. Dazzling once again, the number two in the world gave no option to the 79th. He resolved his debut directly and will have a transition day to face the round of 16 on Thursday, in which he will face Roberto Bautista (double 6-2 against Bernabé Zapata). Meanwhile, noise and emotions, more and more autographs.
“Playing here, with all the people cheering me on, is different. I am lucky that wherever I go there are many people behind me, but here the feeling is special”, he affirms at the foot of the court, who leaves amid applause, claims and “good feelings” after having played “at a high level ”.
It is a working Tuesday and there is a full house. And in the previous days, on the training courts of the Reial Club de Tenis Barcelona (RCTB), while Tsitsipas, Sinner or Kachanov exercised at the same time, Alcaraz’s screams predominated when he hit, just as intense as when he competes. The sound draws the attention of the fans, who crowd into the access to the players’ area, a few meters from the training fields. “We’ve been waiting for an hour for him to come out, but we’re going to wait as long as it takes,” says a girl who is waiting for the tennis player to appear. The possibility of seeing him up close increases in a club as close as that of Pedralbes.
When Alcaraz approaches the crowd, the shouting, shoving and even crying begin. Everyone wants an image to remember with the present and future of Spanish tennis. Every time he appears, a cloud of cell phones, giant tennis balls, notebooks and caps form. During the uproar and pleas, his friend and rival, Jannik Sinner, appears on the scene. They both shake hands, talk and smile. The Italian, not as close as the Murcian, signs a couple of caps and disappears, while the Spaniard stays until everyone present gets the precious gift from him. Most of them are young, boys and girls, who see in it a mirror in which to reflect themselves.
The current champion of Godó has been at the tournament facilities for four days now and since he set foot in the club the expectation around him has been similar to that of a star. That of an icon that crosses the borders of sport. “What we are experiencing this year with Alcaraz, having girls cry, we have never experienced it, not even with Rafa [Nadal] nor with anyone”, they confirm from the Barcelona club itself.
“It is very nice to see so many people excited by my presence, that they are there for so long so that I can sign them or take a photo with me. I take it very naturally, but it is something magical; at the same time I feel super happy”, affirms the man from El Palmar, champion this year in Buenos Aires and Indian Wells, and now aspiring to repeat the double achieved last year, Barcelona-Madrid. “I have felt comfortable”, he corroborates, leaving behind the inconvenience that prevented him from playing the previous week in Monte Carlo. “I know my body and my capabilities. The season is very long and you have to know how to control them, because they are coming out, but I play every game to the fullest; I can’t go out on the track with the handbrake,” he adds.
He is the great focus of attention in the Godó, where this Tuesday Feliciano López paraded for the last time. The 41-year-old from Toledo, with 22 participations behind him, a record number, lost against David Goffin 7-6(3), 6-7(4) and 6-0; Fernando Verdasco followed the same course (double 6-1 for Francesco Passaro) and in the opposite direction maneuvered Alejandro Davidovich, superior to Tomás Etcheverry (double 6-3). On Wednesday, figures such as Tsitsipas or Sinner will intervene.
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