Carlos Alcaraz: “I am attracting a lot of people who didn’t follow tennis”

The day after winning his second Wimbledon title and lifting his fourth major, Carlos Alcaraz (El Palmar, Murcia; 21 years old) spoke to Morning Express on the terrace of the club reserved for players. Before sitting down to chat on the wooden chair, the tennis player greeted the head of communications for the ATP and, emphasizing his emotion, told him: “Yesterday was a very happy day; a very happy day.” He was wrapped in a white sweatshirt and was wearing some sneakers (he usually says, referring to the shoes) of colours that peek out when he crosses his legs. The champion reflects the same closeness and the same normality as always, despite the fact that the day before he shook the greatest dominator in the history of his sport, Novak Djokovic, in La Catedral. But Alcaraz wants more, much more. The Murcian aspires to a greater challenge, that of transcending as the figure who illuminated his sport when an era of uncertainty was approaching. The changing of the guard is taking place and he is emerging as the new leader. He does it in his own way: against the current. He sets the pace by dancing on and off the court, and says he does not know where his limits are, but anticipates that what he has achieved so far is not enough for him. “We must go for more, without a doubt,” he says. He is tired and wants to return to Murcia, his Murcia; in the short distance, off the microphone, his accent multiplies. And before chatting, he jokes with the camera operator: “Ah, but you live here, in London? Send him photos of paella and the beach then…” Carlitos, or making history in another way.

Ask. He has denied to me a couple of times already that he is chosen, but he won’t be able to do it a third time.

Answer. By?

P. Because he doesn’t sweat while playing! Does that sound familiar?

R. Well, I sweated yesterday, eh? Even though it may not seem like it, I sweated, I sweated… [risas]The truth is that I have always had a hard time sweating, and as a child I was one of the few who played in long sleeves and long pants, so imagine… But yes, we take that as an advantage.

P. The same thing happened with a certain Federer.

R. It’s true, he played and moved with such elegance that it really seemed like he was not making any effort and that he was not sweating.

A thousand ghosts go through your head, but I try not to be afraid; I’m already thinking about winning the fifth major.”

P. He is getting everyone used to seeing him succeed. Can one ever get used to all this, which is, in the end, extraordinary?

R. We try to normalise it and take it naturally, but at the same time we know that it is not normal; it is not normal to win Grand Slams, it is not normal to defend the title at Wimbledon, or to win Roland Garros and this tournament back to back… Obviously, we try to celebrate it and… [pausa para pensar]how to say it, live it in a special way, but at the same time we try not to take it for granted.

P. He says he wants to sit at the table of the greats and from Germany, another of his generation, Nico Williams, has just won the European Championship and is already aiming for the next World Cup. Are you the generation without fear?

R. We try not to. We are young and, logically, we have a thousand ghosts in our heads; we try not to let them affect us and to send them away, and to go for it. I have just won my fourth Grand Slam, the second Wimbledon, and I am already thinking about going for the fifth, and they are doing more of the same. They have won the fourth Euro Cup, which is the first for the vast majority of the team, and Nico already wants more. I think it is nice that it is a group with young people and with that ambition; okay, they have achieved something very, very big for Spanish sport and football, but they are already thinking about something even bigger. That is wonderful.

Alcaraz belongs to that new series of exceptions who do not act strictly according to the old model, but to the standards of the new youth. They become professionals earlier than ever and prepare according to the most rigorous methods, every millimetric; however, behind each study, each measurement and each calculated movement, the essence remains. The return to the origin: the game. The Murcian cannot conceive of competing without adding the fun factor to the sacrifice, so that every time he jumps on the track he does so with the aim of hooking the fans. But, above all, those who are not fans. His motto, therefore, is for now untouchable.

P. You are changing the paradigm. Tennis has always been associated with suffering, but in your case you are succeeding and enjoying yourself, without forgetting, obviously, everything that lies behind it. Do you consider yourself a revolutionary?

R. It may be, it may be. There are many people who tell me that they have never seen anyone play with the joy with which I play, transmit that tranquility and that naturalness on the court; many people had not seen it, so hearing all those words delights me and I am very grateful for them. It may be that I am changing a little the way of seeing sport, of seeing tennis; I think that I have attracted a lot of attention from people who did not follow tennis or sport, but above all not so much for the way of playing, as for the way of behaving and with which I am playing. approach [del verbo approach en inglés, ‘encaro’] all the matches and this sport. That’s amazing for me because in the end I’m playing for myself and my team, but also for the tennis industry. I want to try to get as many people as possible to watch tennis.

P. I was saying the other day that maybe later on, as he matures, he could change his style of play. But why stick with what works?

R. I always say that if everything is going well, why should we change the sail or the things? In the end, if everything is going well, we don’t have to change anything, but people mature and grow, and maybe I can do other things that are much better for me, continuing with the same joy, and I can even attract more people. Who knows? For now, we are going to try to continue along the same line we are on.

Maybe I’m changing the way I see this sport a little, especially because of my way of behaving.”

P. With his way of playing and approaching things, he often dismantles his team’s plans and theories. But, deep down, they can’t tell him anything, right?

R. They tell me things and I try to pay as much attention as possible, but they already know how I am, and so they tell me things based on that. But well, we try to pay attention to them as much as possible.

P. To close, what can you tell me about the trip to Ibiza? Did you start winning this tournament there?

R. I’m going to try to take it as a routine… [risas]Last year went well for me and this one too, so I think it’s a very nice way to disconnect and recharge our batteries, especially mentally, to continue doing what we’re doing.

P. Winning by dancing, then.

R. Indeed! [risas].

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