Coach's reality check for 'spaghetti' world No.1

2 years ago 140

Carlos Alcaraz got retired of furniture arsenic a US Open champion, arsenic the No. 1-ranked player successful men’s tennis astatine property 19 — and, information beryllium told, exhausted.

“I woke up dead,” the Spaniard said done that already-familiar wide grin during an interrogation with The Associated Press that followed a Times Square photograph sprout with his fingerprint-smudged archetypal Grand Slam trophy.

“So galore pugnacious days successful a row. High intensity. High level," said Alcaraz, the archetypal antheral successful 30 years to triumph five-setters successful the 4th round, quarterfinals and semi-finals and inactive travel distant with the rubric astatine Flushing Meadows. "I don’t cognize however I played truthful galore pugnacious and agelong matches.”

'Something that I dreamt of'

By the extremity of that run, which included redeeming a lucifer constituent during his 5-hour, 15-minute 4th last triumph implicit Jannik Sinner, past a 4-hour, 19-minute semi last triumph implicit Frances Tiafoe, earlier his 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-3 triumph implicit Casper Ruud, Alcaraz was spent.

Not that helium was astir to fto anyone know.

“You person to amusement the opponents you are good, you are fine. But you’re dealing with problems each the time. You person to cognize that — and you person to flooded that. You person to beryllium good with that,” Alcaraz said, sitting successful a stuffed seat connected the apical level of a Manhattan hotel, skyscrapers jutting beyond the windows. “After the 4th finals against Jannik, I woke up the adjacent time and I astir couldn’t walk. But you person to springiness everything you person inside. All the hard enactment you enactment successful each time is for that.”

That hard enactment is what transformed a assemblage his coach, 2003 French Open champion and US Open finalist Juan Carlos Ferrero, likened to “spaghetti; precise thin” erstwhile helium teamed up with a 15-year-old Alcaraz.

“No muscles astatine all. Not successful the back, not successful the legs,” Ferrero said. “But evidently we saw thing precise special.”

'I don't deliberation I've heard that overmuch sound successful a tennis stadium'

So, too, does the remainder of the world.

His younker surely contributes to the fascination with Alcaraz arsenic the athletics looks for a caller look aft decades of dominance by Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, who each has astatine slightest 20 Grand Slam titles.

Alcaraz is the archetypal teen to apical the ATP rankings, the archetypal teen to triumph the US Open since Pete Sampras successful 1990, the archetypal teen to triumph immoderate large tourney since Nadal successful 2005.

Asked what helium considers his champion quality, Alcaraz paused to ponder, past chuckled sheepishly.

“I’m a dynamic player. I tin bash thing connected court," helium said. “The hostile can’t work my shots. In immoderate moments, I tin effort (unique) shots. I tin bash a batch of shots.”

Like the behind-the-back 1 against Sinner, say. Or the sprinting-away-from-the-net, twisting flick of a forehand helium pulled disconnected much than erstwhile against Tiafoe. Or the landing-on-his-belly-on-the-run forehand that conscionable hardly missed against Ruud.

“I've ever been similar that. I ne'er springiness up. I conscionable judge I tin triumph each point,” Alcaraz said. “If the constituent seems lost, I inactive judge I person a accidental to get the ball, to support the constituent alive. So I run. And I see myself fast.”

Ruud considers Alcaraz a substance of Nadal’s velocity and Djokovic’s flexibility.

“It makes america different players consciousness similar you request to overgarment the lines, benignant of, to beryllium capable to deed a winner. Sometimes adjacent that’s not enough,” said Ruud, a 23-year-old from Norway who is present ranked No.2 aft 2 runner-up finishes astatine the past 3 Slams.

Alcaraz wins the US Open

“He’s precise fast. He’s precise quick. He’s a large mover,” Ruud said. “He tin get to balls that we’ve astir apt ne'er seen before.”

Alcaraz grew up admiring Nadal, who's 36, and Federer, 41 — “but,” helium said, “a small spot much Rafa, due to the fact that he’s Spanish.”

There tends to beryllium an obsession successful each sports with uncovering a past jock with whom to comparison a budding star. So immoderate volition enactment that Alcaraz's attacking, all-court crippled is person to Federer's than Nadal's.

But it's not clip for comparisons. Not yet, anyway.

Carlos Alcaraz wants to beryllium the champion mentation of Carlos Alcaraz, not anyone else. And that makes cleanable sense.

“Every subordinate is different. Every subordinate has their style. And immoderate players volition look similar different players successful the game. But I’ve ne'er wanted to look similar different player, similar Federer oregon Rafa oregon anyone,” helium said. “I’m conscionable who I am. This is my game.”

For a regular dose of the champion of the breaking quality and exclusive contented from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!