“It has not been easy, more than mentally, on the legs, the Murcian recognized
“In the end I managed to calm down a bit and play at a good level”
the spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz made it clear that his triumph at the US Open, his first ‘Grand Slam’, and the ascent to number one in the world were things with which he has “dreamed of since he was a child” and that given his youth it was something “really special”.
“This is something I’ve dreamed of since I was a kid, to be number one in the world and a Grand Slam champion. I have worked very hard and now it is difficult to speak, there are many emotions. I’m only 19 years old and it’s something really special for me,” Alcaraz said before receiving the winner’s trophy from John McEnroe.
The Murcian stressed that despite reaching the final after three tough five-set matches, he “always” tells himself that “in the final rounds of a ‘Grand Slam’ is no time to be tired“. “You have to give everything on the track, everything you have inside,” he added.
The 19-year-old from El Palmar especially remembered his mother and grandfather. “I have been thinking about them. My family is here, but many have not been able to come,” he said. “Many people have come to see me and encourage me on this very special day. The affection that I have received from the first day and the first round has been incrediblethis has probably been the public and the atmosphere that I have experienced the most on a tennis court”, he sentenced, addressing the stands in Spanish.
Later, before the Eurosport microphone, Alcaraz reiterated that it was “a super special moment” and that “I was never” going to “forget” him, and he acknowledged that his level was not the best in the first three sets. “I took the first one because I served quite well, I honestly think that Ruud had more options to win it because of his level because of his level from the back of the court”, he pointed out.
“I was very dense in the first and in the second, but also in the third. In the end I managed to calm down a bit and play at a good level from the baseline because Casper was playing very well and he made it very hard for me. I have known how to suffer there,” he added.
Finally, about the last game, he confessed that he only thought “of throwing the ball up and serving well”. “It has not been easy, more than mentally, on the legs. I was calm and I noticed that my legs weighed me a lot, so I knew I had to serve very well,” he said.