Alcaraz: “Rafa is the favorite but I feel ready”

Carlos Alcaraz fulfilled his goal of progressing at the Mutua Madrid Open, after beat the British Cameron Norrie, to meet in the quarterfinals against Rafael Nadal in the duel desired by the public and the organization of the Madrid event.

Alcaraz and Nadal will seek a place in the semifinal on Friday. They have met twice before with the Balearic always winning. But on this occasion, the veteran player, still fine-tuned after the rib injury, considers that his rival, the young man from Murcia, comes with more options for victory. “I am going to say the opposite of what he says. He is one of the best players in the world and the best player in the world on clay. Although he says that I am the favourite, it is because he is not in good shape yet, he comes from an injury, but you always have to think of Rafa as a favorite because he has already won here five times and all the things he has achieved on clay,” argued Alcaraz.

“I am the new boy, the newcomer, who should not have any pressure when playing against one of the best players in history,” said the tennis player from El Palmar, who turned nineteen this Thursday. “I’m going to give my 100%. I’m going to try to show my best level. Of course I dream and fight to be the best. As I said, to be the best you have to beat the best. I think I’m ready to achieve it.” warned Carlos Alcaraz, who felt the support of the stands.

“I feel very happy with the way people cheer me on, support me. I think Rafa is Rafa, even more so here in Spain. Little by little people support me and want a little more, but Rafa has been with us for many years. Many more people know him. Hopefully there will be a small part of the people who support me, but I think I will be ready to know that people will support Rafa a little more than me”, considered the Spaniard, who needed three sets to overcome Norrie “I lost the second set, it was very tight. Everything was very even. It could have fallen from anywhere. But once I lose the second set I just have to free my mind, clean it up and start the third set like it’s the start of the match. I think I’ve started very well. I haven’t allowed him any time to play his game. I think that has benefited me throughout the third set. Physically it has been a long match. Now I will try to do my best to recover as well as possible for the game on Friday,” he said.

Related news

“I think it’s always difficult to play against Rafa, well, to play against the best players,” he said. “I will think of myself, of course, in the difficult moments to gain momentum. It will be difficult, and also if you think about who you are playing against, but I will try not to think about it. In front I will have a normal player and I will try to take away the nerves that may have. Not to think that I am going to play against the best player on clay. I will try not to show Rafa that I am nervous, that I have the ability to play a good game”, said Alcaraz, who recalled the other duels with Nadal, in especially the one played a year ago at the Caja Mágica. “I remember that I left very nervous. I couldn’t find my game. I couldn’t find myself on the field. I wasn’t able to control myself both mentally and physically, and that was hard on me. Now I think I’m a completely different player, capable of handling my feelings, capable of handling those hard moments of the match and knowing what’s going on”, Alcaraz explained. “To face that match it’s very important to know how to manage your feelings, to know how to manage In what moments of the game do you see where you are doing well and to be able to improve moment by moment. Now I think I am a player who is capable of knowing the negative point and being able to improve it. It is going to be very important to read the game,” added the Spanish tennis player.

The ninth player in the world, who will be at least seventh in the standings on Monday, stressed that the game “is special for me. Playing against Rafa is very nice, and especially here in Madrid. But I’ll try not to think so much about that. I’m just going to try to think that it’s another match, a quarterfinal, that I’ve already played a couple of quarterfinals. I’ll try to handle the pressure, the nerves, and I’ll have to show a good level of tennis. Mentally I’ll also try to control myself.”