Status: 18.07.2022 08:58
19-12 months-previous Carlos Alcaraz is already ranked sixth on the earth. Why his Spanish compatriot Rafael Nadal describes “Carlchen” because the present of tennis, the sky ahead will need to show in his debut at Rothenbaum.
He likes to chuckle – and so much. One would assume that he laughs off the compliments that observe him on daily basis. Why ought to Carlos Alcaraz care when he is already been in contrast to world stars like 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal and is effectively on his manner to main the sphere at simply 19 years previous? “I push the strain apart – not less than I strive,” says the younger man, uncomfortable at such moments, however in a barely clumsy overseas English.
As on this week’s match at Rothenbaum, the highest-seeded Spaniard is greater than able to including his identify to the lengthy checklist of compatriots who’ve received the clay court docket traditional. This 12 months’s participant of the 12 months has misplaced solely two of his 22 matches. Therefore, the very best prospects to obtain the purpose of profitable the match on the premiere in Hamburg.
Additional Information
Bold, aggressive and arduous hitting
“I’m in an excellent temper, I really feel good, nevertheless it’s not simple to go from the grass at Wimbledon to the sand right here,” stated the “heaven striker” who’s about to flip the world of tennis the other way up. . The final cease within the Round of 16 was on the Sacred Lawn in Wimbledon. Played as a mixed ladies’s and males’s occasion for the primary time in 44 years, the European Open in Hamburg expects to “explode” the correct-handed and typically two-handed groundstrokes she is aware of how to play. play very dangerously.
“I need to be daring and aggressive,” he says in an interview on the facility on Gallerstrasse. Waiting and simply returning balls defensively over the web shouldn’t be his factor. “If I lose, it isn’t as a result of I’m too passive.”
Big reward from position mannequin Nadal
The indisputable fact that Rafael Nadal is his confirmed position mannequin is not any shock for the tennis participant who was born on May 5, 2003 within the small village of El Palmar close to Murcia within the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula and has been knowledgeable tennis participant since 2018. “Carlitos”, as Nadal typically nonetheless calls the 1.85m athlete, means “Carlchen”.
No downside for Alcaraz, after all, who laughs heartily when requested about it. The 36-12 months-previous clay-court docket king from Manacor, Majorca, who received his 14th French Open, is filled with reward, telling Tennis Magazine: “He’s not the way forward for tennis, he is the current.”
Rothenbaum begins in opposition to Nicola Kuhn
Joining Alcaraz at Rothenbaum is 22-12 months-previous Nicola Kuhn from Ludwigshafen, who has performed at Wimbledon however has but to win a match in Hamburg. It would possibly seem to be a straightforward begin for the elite.
But he nonetheless does not need to take his debut in Hamburg evenly, says the world quantity six, who continues to be ranked 515th in April 2019. Even typically he has to rub his eyes on the successes he doesn’t settle for. “I’m stunned that it is going so effectively this season – and most significantly, rapidly.”
The fifth closing is the fifth title
It appears that his luck will solely enhance this 12 months. Tournament victories in Rio de Janeiro (ATP 500) and Miami (Masters 1000), in addition to a semi-closing look at Indian Wells (Masters 1000), put him within the prime 20 of the world rankings firstly of the season. In Miami, he even turned the youngest and first Spanish winner within the historical past of the match.
Additional Information
The then 18-12 months-previous captured his fourth ATP Tour title and entered the highest ten for the primary time in entrance of his dwelling crowd in Barcelona. Incidentally, because the youngest participant after Nadal, he achieved this feat by profitable the match in Barcelona in 2005.
Back-to-back wins in opposition to Nadal, Djokovic and Zverev
At the Masters in Madrid, Alcaraz received his fifth profession closing, defeating Hamburg’s Alexander Zverev, who missed the Rothenbaum this 12 months due to a severe leg damage. For the sake of completeness, it must also be talked about that he has beforehand defeated Nadal and Novak Djokovic back-to-back.
Ferrero makes Carlitos sturdy
His coach is former world primary and 2003 French Open winner Juan Carlos Ferrero, who coached Zverev for a number of months. But in accordance to the Spaniard, the chemistry was not proper. Alcaraz trains frequently on the Ferrero Academy, an hour’s drive from his dwelling in southeastern Spain. According to his coach, he’s additionally hardworking and affected person when it comes to power coaching. And if you’re too drained, a smile will assist.
Additional Information
Keywords for this text
tennis
.