CARLOS ALCARAZ SAYS HE’S HAD ‘NO TIME’ TO REFLECT ON FRENCH OPEN, WIMBLEDON, OLYMPICS OR US OPEN AHEAD OF DAVIS CUP
As well as winning the French Open and Wimbledon, Carlos Alcaraz also took silver on his Olympic debut in Paris. However, the Spaniard says he has had “no time” to reflect on his successes or, indeed, the disappointment of being knocked out in the early stages of the US Open. Alcaraz has joined up with the Spain team in Valencia for this week’s Davis Cup Finals Group Stage
Carlos Alcaraz says he has had “no time” to reflect on his frantic summer, which ended with the disappointment of an early exit at the US Open.
The Spaniard was beaten by Botic van de Zandschulp in a shock second-round defeat at Flushing Meadows.
However, that came off the back of double Grand Slam success and contributing to his country’s Olympic medal tally in Paris.
Prior to that, Alcaraz took victory at the French Open in June and retained his Wimbledon title in July with another final victory over Novak Djokovic.
Add to that, he also formed one half of the most talked-about partnerships of the Paris Games as he teamed up with Rafael Nadal for an exciting run to the quarter-finals of the men’s doubles.
It is fair to say Alcaraz has kept himself pretty busy of late, but has he allowed himself to appreciate his achievements?
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“Well I had a few days after every tournament but probably the bad thing [in tennis] – and the good thing as well – is we have no time to relax and think about it,” he said.
“At some points I really want to have more time to relax, to celebrate it, to think about what we have done so far.
“But at other points I prefer not to think about it too much, I just try to keep going and focus on the next steps.
“Let’s say I’ve had no time to stay calm and think about my summer.”
Even after finding himself with some unexpected downtime due to crashing out early in New York, Alcaraz did not take the opportunity to relax.
Instead, he chased more adrenaline and excitement by heading straight to Monza for the Italian Grand Prix.
“It was an amazing experience,” he said.
“I wanted to go to Formula One a long time ago but the tennis schedule doesn’t allow us to go to a lot of events.
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“Obviously after the US Open it was a little bit disappointing for me. I tried to reset my mind as fast as I could.
“Once I could go to Formula One, I didn’t think too much about it. I went straight to it to watch it.”
Although his F1 trip was a way of taking some time away from the court, Alcaraz says it also taught him new methods and gave him fresh ideas to take into his own preparations.
“Obviously the way that the drivers approach races is insane. The way that they are focused on every step of the warm-up, everything, it’s crazy.
“I tried to think about doing the same when I approach the match, my tournaments and for me it was great to watch in real life,” he said.
Alcaraz returns to action in the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage in Valencia, when he will represent Spain along with Pedro Martinez, Roberto Bautista Agut, Pablo Carreno Busta and Marcel Granollers.
They will take on Czech Republic, Australia and France in Group B, with countries fighting for a place in November’s final stage in Malaga.
For Alcaraz, it is the first time he has played in the competition since 2022 and he knows his team have a hard task ahead.
“Honestly when the group came out I thought ‘oh, ok we are going to sweat a lot if we want to qualify’.
“It is the toughest group in the Davis Cup, but you know I always say if you want to be the best you have to beat the best.”
