Alcaraz: “Beating Nadal and Djokovic gives me a lot of confidence for the final”

MADRID, 7 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz described his moment at the Mutua Madrid Open as “spectacular”, after the victory over Novak Djokovic in the semifinals and against Rafa Nadal in the previous round, playing aggressive and courageous, focused on number one.

“It’s spectacular, right now I’m very happy to be able to play these games, having beaten Rafa, the number one in the world, super happy, it gives me a lot of confidence for tomorrow’s final,” he said this Saturday at a press conference in the magic Box.

The Murcian, who said he pulled “head and balls”, explained the keys to his victories. “To beat Rafa you have to have a very good backhand, and yesterday I played a perfect game, yesterday I did very well going forward and above all aggressive. Be constant throughout the game, be aggressive, know the moments of the game”, he pointed out .

The 19-year-old was not considered the best for beating the 21 and 20 ‘big’ champions. “Djokovic is the one in the ranking, I couldn’t tell you, they are both among the best in history, I don’t know who is the best. We still have eight players ahead of us to be the best in the world,” he said.

“Good victories must be enjoyed. We are going to have some time to enjoy the moment. Tomorrow I am going to play a final of a great tournament so I am going to be focused tonight to recover and be as good as possible tomorrow”, he added.

Alcaraz explained his reaction after losing the first set. “At the end of the first set I thought that I had to continue because I had to believe in my possibilities. You have to go for the game, it is where the top players are reflected, I want to differentiate myself in that, that in those moments I want to go for the game, that’s what I thought about the ‘tie-break’ I want to go for the game no matter what happens”, he said.

The one from El Palmar explained that he sees himself competing with the best also for the ‘Grand Slam’. “I feel ready to compete against them in all tournaments, on all surfaces. In a ‘Grand Slam’ it’s different, the matches are longer, the best ones are mentally made of a different paste. I think I’m ready,” he said. the.

“I played at the same level from the beginning to the end, aggressive, focused all the time. I have matured in everything, to handle everything,” finished Alcaraz, who will face the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas or the German Alexander Zverev in the final.