Carlitos Alcaraz arrives in Monte Carlo, the only Masters 1,000 that has not yet seen him win a match. The 20-year-old Spaniard spoke to the media in the days prior to his debut in the Monegasque capital. “I am very happy to be here in Monte Carlo, it is a beautiful tournament. I have seen him many times since I was very little. I’ve only played once and it didn’t go too well in 2022, but I’m really looking forward to it and seeing how it goes. I hope to go far, to the final rounds, but it is a very tough tournament, very complicated rivals, so we will see,” he assures.
With Djokovic dominating the world ranking, the fight behind is between the Murcian and the Italian Sinner, who has just taken the number 2 from him… something that Alcaraz is not too worried about: “Being second or third doesn’t change much. I know that the tennis players ahead of me have those positions and I have to work to recover it, but I don’t play with less pressure being two or three. I feel the same”. The one from El Palmar also spoke about Jannik and the rivalry between the two: “he is an incredible player on all surfaces. He adapts his tennis very well. Every time we play each other, regardless of the surface, we play great tennis, a great match, so I don’t know if clay court benefits me or not. I want to play against him, we will see if it is in this tournament.”
The Spaniard was also asked about Nadal’s absence, and he was emphatic: “I really want to see him here, playing the tournaments, but the fact that he is not here doesn’t change things much for me. I’m not used to being with him, we have shared very few tournaments. Of course, as a tennis fan it is a shame that Rafa will not play in Monte Carlo.” And the option of a double with both at the Paris Games? “It’s like a dream, I hope to play doubles with him at the Games. There are still four months left and anything can happen. For me it would be great.”
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