ATP Miami – Alcaraz too fast for Carlos: “I did not expect to move so fast at all” – Eurosport FR

He has the manners of the very well-educated young man that he is and the timidity of his exit from adolescence into this world populated by adults. On Sunday, after lifting his first trophy in a Masters 1000 by beating Casper Ruud in the final, Carlos Alcaraz answered questions from Tennis Channel and in particular those from Martina Navratilova, one of the most imposing legends in the history of tennis. “When did you realize that you were able to beat everyone?” Asked the former world number one. The palpable embarrassment of the triumphant Floridian then had something almost touching, exposing in broad daylight the dichotomy between the inhabited and sure competitor that he is on the court and this lack of insurance outside. De la joie d’Alcaraz to Ferrero’s tears: the Spaniard’s historic match point on videoATP MiamiFrom Alcaraz to Cerundolo, Miami lived ten crazy days3 HOURS AGOBut make no mistake. If he displays a very Nadalian moderation in his speech, and this is perhaps one of the points on which the so recurring comparison with his illustrious elder makes the most sense, Alcaraz knows what he wants and just as much what he wants. worth. “I must have dreamed for the first time of becoming world number one when I was five or six years old, he says. But these are childhood dreams. It was really only this year that I took knowing that I could beat the best.” After the Masters 1000, what is there already? For a bit, he would be more surprised than the rest of the world at the speed of his progress in recent weeks. As if Alcaraz was going too fast for Carlos. “Of course I surprise myself, confirms the Murcian. I did not expect at all to advance so quickly. My objective was to be Top 15 at the end of the year and now I am 11th, everything close to the Top 10. It means that all the work produced on a daily basis with my team is already paying off.”Carlos Alcaraz, winner of the Miami Masters 1000Credit: Getty ImagesGiven the meteoric rise of his career, he will have to revise very quickly his ambitions for this 2022 season are on the rise: he has already ticked all the boxes of the objectives set for the off-season with his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, whether in terms of rankings or results. The Top 15 is therefore a settled affair. After winning his first title in the summer of 2021 at Umag, an ATP 250, he hoped to go for an ATP 500 this year. Made. From February. “Afterwards, we said to ourselves, well, the next goal is to try to win a Masters 1000”, continues the phenomenon. From the second meeting of this caliber, it’s done. So, even if it means making him blush, inevitably, the next step… “I would like to win a Grand Slam this year, but it’s so difficult. ..”, he moderates, before, all the same, displaying a very concrete ambition: “I would like to qualify for the ATP Finals (the Masters, editor’s note) for the first time”. Knowing that he has already garnered 1950 points after more than doubling his 2022 savings by winning at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday and that he occupies 2nd place in the “Race” ranking at the end of this first quarter, the thing seems more than possible. Only a certain Rafael Nadal is still ahead of him. Holy duo. Rafa is one of the greatest players of all time, I am a young man trying to live his dreamsNadal. Alcaraz. Nadalcaraz. The idol and the announced heir. If you are tired of the comparison, or the din around the “future great Alcaraz”, bad news for you. His title in Miami will put a coin back in the machine rather than putting it on the back burner. Rafael Nadal was also the first to congratulate his younger brother by tweeting just after the final: “Bravo ‘Carlitos’ for your historic victory. Definitely the first of a long series to come!””If we compare me with Rafa, it probably means that I am doing very good things and that I am in the right direction”, he dares, before a clarification, without boasting or annoyance. “I try not to think about that. Rafa is Rafa and Carlos Alcaraz is Carlos Alcaraz. Rafa is one of the greatest players of all time, I am a young man who tries to live his dreams. He is my idol, he has always inspired me since I was little, I watched so many of his matches. I liked to be inspired by him and to be with him on the circuit , having the opportunity to play against him is quite special. But I am Carlos, not Rafa.” Looks good too.Carlos Alcaraz looks almost surprised to be holding Miami’s trophy in his arms.Credit: Getty ImagesATP MiamiBublik plays it upside down, Alcaraz mad and ambidextrous Wolf: The Top 5 from Miami4 HOURS AGOATP MiamiMiami and Ruud couldn’t resist: Highlights from Alcaraz’s victory in the final5 HOURS AGO