Carlos Alcaraz (18 years old, number 9 in the ranking) entered the press room smiling after the traditional soak in the RCTB pool as Godó champion. An hour and a half after winning his first title against Pablo Carreño, Carlos Alcaraz, who has accumulated almost five hours of tennis this Sunday, appears to talk about his successes. She doesn’t want limits, or comparisons. She just wants to win and have fun.
Didn’t you feel tired in the final after an agonizing semi-final?
I showed that I was not so tired. I played a great semi-final of almost four hours, I had less recovery time, but I took it as an advantage. I came out with things very clear, to do what I have to do. He was aggressive already in the final.
What did you do between game and game?
I did 15 minutes of cycling, I had my smoothie, I ate and I took a 30 minute nap to be as awake as possible for the final.
Where does that winning gene come from?
The winning gene runs in my family. My father and grandfather told me, and my team, they told me that the finals are not played, but rather they are won. You have to go for it and so it has been.
It grows by leaps and bounds. Do you have a roof?
The limits are set by each one. I don’t want to hit the ceiling yet, I want to continue playing at this level and if I display this kind of tennis I have the chance to win matches, to win tournaments, to beat the best… I want to enjoy myself and improve. I don’t want to touch the ceiling.
He is going from being an unknown boy to someone famous. How do you digest it?
It doesn’t scare me, I take it normally. I was always a normal person, from the village. It doesn’t scare me, I’ll still be the boy I always was. Not because people recognize me, I will change. I will not change the person I am. In tournaments I can win, but when I go home I am the same as always, like when I was ten years old.
You will enter the top ten 17 years after Nadal entered. What does that data suggest to you?
It is an incredible fact, and it is not the only impressive thing that I do just like Rafa. I don’t know what to say, I’m glad to know that at 18 I’m in the top ten and it’s special that Rafa did it on the same date because she’s my idol.