Alcaraz made history in Madrid with a numb toe

After nibbling on the trophy and attending to the different commitments he had, Carlos Alcaraz traveled to the north of Madrid on Sunday to celebrate his second Masters 1000 (fourth trophy of the year and fifth of his career) in a modern restaurant located in the attic from the Chamartín station.

Of course, with him was his team – the largest on the circuit, with nine members – and a more than considerable addition: 30 people in total.

Ham and croquettes circulated, as well as white prawn tartare, grilled sea bass, two types of meat and a cheesecake with pistachio.

Thursday had been his 19th birthday, so the celebration was pending;

It ended in the wee hours of the morning in a nightclub in the El Viso neighborhood.

Alcaraz, an enjoyable boy, had a great time.

Nothing to do with what happened twenty-four hours ago, when the night seemed long too, but for a very different reason.

Before the final against the German Alexander Zverev, the Murcian could not sleep a wink due to a blister on his toe and the persistent pain that he had been dragging on since Friday, when he twisted his right ankle during a maneuver during the quarterfinal match against Rafael Nadal.

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"He had a terrible time," describes Toni Cascales, mentor of the boy's coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, and guru of the clan that surrounds Alcaraz;

He “had it swollen and bothered him, and the blister also became infected and with the rubbing of the sheets he was very uncomfortable.

He was restless.

In addition, he had cost himself very late, at half past one, because the post-match recovery that he usually does is demanding”.

Finally, the 19-year-old tennis player received medical treatment and was able to jump to the Caja Mágica headquarters with guarantees;

yes, he did it with a sleeping finger.

Even so, he knocked down the three in the world in just 62 minutes – a record time in a tournament final – and once again demonstrated that tennis attends an exceptional takeoff.

“It's crazy.

If even the priest of El Palmar [the player's town] rang the bells!”, transmits Cascales.

“After the semifinal against Djokovic I was with Juan Carlos [Ferrero] and he told me: 'Toni, did you think this was going to go so fast?'

And I replied: 'I knew it was going to happen, but not so soon...'.

Alcaraz lifts the title of champion in Madrid. INMA FLORES (EL PAIS)

And he adds: “Everything is going faster than we expected, and that there was a break due to the pandemic [from March to September 2020], because there we could have cut a year and perhaps now we would be talking about even more important things, or that I was higher up in the

.”

Located on the sixth step, Alcaraz is the player who has won the most titles (4) this year and the second in the annual race, only 70 points behind Nadal.

However, says Cascales, he does not lose his essence and keeps his feet on the ground.

“He is still the same as always, a normal boy who is very well controlled by his family and his environment.

In addition, we are here [at the Ferrero Equelite Sport Academy in Villena, Alicante], in the middle of the field, and that is very good for him because it allows him to grow with peace of mind”, values ​​the Valencian.

From Murcia to Paris, passing through Villena

“He handles the media attention very well, with enormous naturalness.

He likes.

For example, Juan Carlos at his age was more shy, but he enjoys it a lot;

now, they constantly propose things to him and at certain times Albert [Molina, his IMG agent] has to slow down the matter a bit because if not, all that ends up weighing a bit ”.

Now, Alcaraz will enjoy three days off in Murcia and then he will return to the training center to prepare for Roland Garros (from May 22 to June 5).

The foot problems led him to rule out the Rome Masters that will take place this week and to prioritize the set-up for Paris, where he will emerge as one of the great players.

"He will go there to win, he is very confident," concludes Cascales, totem of the large group that accompanies the young man from one side to the other: "When friends from Murcia come, there are many of us...".

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