By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday, October 3, 2024
Carlos Alcaraz AND Jannik the Sinner you have a “friendly rivalry” but to call it a close friendship would be wrong.
The Spaniard spoke of his respect for Sinner – and described their friendship to reporters – after claiming his third straight victory over the Italian on Wednesday night in Beijing.
“We have a very good relationship off the field as well,” Alcaraz said. “I think we both respect each other a lot, as players, as people, but once we’re on tour traveling, during tournaments when we’re on the ground, we’re just with our team, so we don’t talk. a lot.
“When we can, we talk a little apart from tennis, a little about life, but not much. We have a good relationship, but we’re not close friends, but I think that respect has put us in a position where we have a really good relationship.”
Regardless of what the duo share off the court, there’s no doubt they spark electricity when they’re across the net from each other. Their ten meetings have produced iconic moments and their last, three hours and 20 minutes won by Alcaraz 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (3), was further proof that the future rivalry of tennis great. is far from overwhelming.
“When Jannik and I face each other, playing against each other, I think it’s a very good thing for tennis because we always show a really intense match, very close matches, great points, great rallies, Alcaraz said. “I think for people who don’t watch tennis, maybe thanks to these kinds of matches, (they) start watching tennis or even practice it. I think it’s great.”
Joy Returns
A stunning shock loss to Botic Van de Zandschulp in the second round at the US Open left Alcaraz feeling drained in September. But some time off the court and a productive training block that included team events at the Davis Cup and Laver Cup has helped the four-time major champion find his mojo again.
Alcaraz may only be 21 years old, but that doesn’t mean he’s immune to feeling the fatigue of a grueling season. After running the table at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon, it’s no surprise that the Spaniard had a setback. He says that at least for now his energy is high.
“I had that really good month of training after the American pace,” he said. “Of course, the Davis Cup and the Laver Cup helped me a lot to get my energy back, to motivate me again. Those races helped me a lot to bring joy back to the field and, shall we say, focus on what comes next. I came here to Asia with a lot of energy, enjoying every second I step on the pitch and that for me is very important.”
Alcaraz said his team helped him emotionally as he reset his priorities and looked to finish the season strong.
“Thanks to them, I started to regain the joy of playing the matches, practicing, I was motivated again”, he said. “I really wanted to travel, play tournaments again. Maybe after the American swing, I was a little down, because I didn’t want to touch a racket for a while. I didn’t want to travel, let’s say.
“After that we talked a lot during those days, knowing that I have to get back training, be stronger physically, be stronger mentally just to overcome those problems. In the last month we have worked very, very hard on the pitch, off the pitch, just so we can feel this moment again.”
