There is no time to celebrate, nor to rest for Carlos Alcaraze, because after the title won at the China Open in Beijing, the young Spaniard is already in another part of China, for the Shanghai Rolex Masters. Another example of how the ATP tennis schedule is too dense and full of commitments.
✈️ Carlos Alcaraz on how it feels to play an epic final against a rival and then share a plane ride two hours later.
🗣️ “Possibly in other sports it would be impossible to do it… But in tennis we have a really good relationship.”
The Spaniard has expressed on several occasions his harsh point of view on the busy calendar that characterizes the ATP Tour and, during the Media Day in Shanghai, he returned to talk about the subject explaining everything he had to do in a short time after the final of the China Open.
“I’ve said it many times, the tennis schedule is very busy. We have to get used to it. Yesterday we finished a three-hour match at 8:30/9:00 p.m. and then I didn’t have time to do anything else. I arrived at the club before the match with all my bags, because I knew that after the final we had to take a plane straight away. We arrived at four in the morning in Shanghai to try to sleep a little more and get used to the playing conditions. This is the calendar: we have to travel from one tournament to the next. It’s difficult. I only slept six hours. Now I’ll rest, I think I need it. Tomorrow I’ll start training and on Saturday I’ll try to play at my best,” said Alcaraz.
The young Spanish player then dwelling on the path followed after the tournaments played in the United States.
“After the American season, I had a month to train. I played the Davis Cup and the Laver Cup, events that helped me to regain energy and find new motivation. I love playing team competitions. They helped me find joy on the court. I came to Asia with a lot of energy and I want to enjoy every single second. It was a great month of preparation and now I am ready for the next tournaments,” he said.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner receiving gifts from fans at the @Nike event in Shanghai. pic.twitter.com/TIfWfptmWU
Alcaraz’s words after the victory in Beijing
On the sidelines of the victory in Beijing, the Spanish champion analyzed at the press conference his triumphant week at the China Open, culminating with the victory in the final against Jannik Sinner.
“I think that by watching these kind of matches, people who don’t follow tennis might decide to start playing or even train. I think it’s a great advert. I enjoy playing against him, but obviously it’s never easy. I’m really happy. When you manage to beat one of the best – if not the best – in the world, you feel like you’re doing things the right way. I’m proud of myself for everything I’ve done in the last month working hard physically. It’s been an intense month, but I’m really happy to have ended it with the trophy in Beijing by winning an incredible match. We both played top-level tennis until the last point.
Both Jannik and I could have won in two sets. I had my chances in the first set and I didn’t take them. I’m happy with the way I handled that moment. I lost the first set by wasting a lot of opportunities and in the second set I tried to clear my mind a bit. I thought about his tie-break statistics this year. I found myself down 0-3 and thought: I’ll try not to lose another one. It was tough, I just focused on the next point. It’s a special win. Lifting the trophy in front of my team and my family was a great moment for me. I think it’s really good for tennis to see me and Jannik playing each other, because we always play very intense, balanced matches and show incredible rallies,” he explained.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner receiving gifts from fans at the @Nike event in Shanghai. pic.twitter.com/TIfWfptmWU
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