Carlos Alcaraz: "I'm afraid of letting my people down"

It is one in the afternoon in New York and Carlos Alcaraz (El Palmar, Murcia; 19 years old), the youngest number one in tennis history and recent US Open champion, receives a small group of journalists.

The talk with the three correspondents and two special envoys —including EL PAÍS— lasts 15 minutes and takes place on the 37th floor of a glass skyscraper located at the intersection between Eighth Avenue and 44th Street. The Murcian departs calmly and , both in his walk and in his expression, it is perceived that the night has been long and that the physical effort made to win his first Grand Slam —with a record of 23h 39m in seven games, a record— has taken its toll.

“Yes, you can already see the tiredness a little…”, he confirms with a handshake.

With some jeans and a white jacket,

A couple of years ago, in a meeting with this newspaper in Villena (Alicante), where he prepares throughout the year, the Murcian replied that he did not consider himself chosen.

So he still hadn't practically gotten his head into the circuit and was still a

who hadn't come of age.

Two courses later, the facts deny him and prove that his sport is facing an exceptional talent that is already breaking records of precocity and celebrating great titles.

Even so, Alcaraz says that he keeps his feet on the ground and that everything he is achieving, he has simply earned through hard work.

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Yes, Carlos Alcaraz is already here

“I stand by my answer.

Nobody gives you anything, I think.

Nobody makes you a snap and you have everything you ask for, but things have to be worked on, ”she introduces.

“I think that if I have managed to win a Grand Slam and be number one in the world, it is because of the work that I have been doing together with my team for a long time.

And it has not been a bed of roses, but you have to suffer.

You had to go through bad times to get to this one... And I think I'm not the chosen one nor has anyone said that I'm going to be the best.

I have only worked for it”, adds the boy, who this season has accumulated more trophies (5) and victories (51) than any other player despite his youth.

I am not a chosen one, I have worked for it.

There is no path of roses and you also have to suffer

Alcaraz is the great sensation of the present.

He has put the whole world in his pocket with a brave and different proposal.

Before disembarking in New York, the premature setbacks in Montreal and Cincinnati generated doubts and dizziness in him, and he recognized that for the first time he was noticing the pressure.

Asked about his fears or fears, he directly refers to his surroundings after pondering for a few seconds.

“As a tennis player, I am afraid of disappointing him, honestly.

If that is.

It's probably one of my fears.

Let down all my people.

And well, as a normal boy, I'm afraid of many things;

I would say in the dark and I would also say that I am not a fan of scary movies either.

Spiders, probably too.

A lot of things, right?” he replies.

– But what is your concept of disappointing?

– Well, not living up to what they [family, friends and team] think many times.

Even if I have achieved this, there will probably be tournaments where high expectations are placed on me and I can't live up to it.

Above all, I mean those around me;

there are many people who think and opine, but I am afraid of disappointing those around me.

I don't know what is expected of me.

There are people who say that it doesn't matter if I lose in the first round or if I lose a final, but it's a thought that I have inside.

Alcaraz celebrates his victory in the final against Ruud. JULIAN FINNEY (AFP)

During the talk, his agent from the multinational IMG, Albert Molina, records on video while employees enter and leave the hotel, and in the background you can see a beautiful view of the city, cars like ants down there.

The tennis player is reminded of what he said the night before on the court, when he already had the trophy in his hands.

Alcaraz admitted that he is still too young and that he is discovering a new universe of fame, contracts and sponsorships that he tries to manage by delegating his relatives.

“The difficult decisions are made by them for me.

I don't paint much, but in a race you have to make difficult decisions related to brands and some tough moments that you have to face.

Being young, they have more of the last word than me.

And in the end, they decide because they see things better than me, ”he explains.

Since he began to emerge, Alcaraz, a town boy with few folds yet, has received the help of psychology to manage a development that is beyond normality.

Since he was a kid he attracted with his sneakers and right away he had many eyes on him;

even more so when at age 16 (2020) he won his first point on the ATP circuit, multiplied last year, when he dazzled precisely at Flushing Meadows.

In the quarterfinals he had to withdraw during the duel with the Canadian Felix Augger Aliassime because his physique, still tender, could not resist the demand for a long-distance challenge.

I think my psychologist is one of the reasons why it is number one.

Now they recognize you on the street...

“I have been working with the psychologist [Isabel Balaguer] since the beginning of 2020. It has been a long time.

She is a very good professional, she has helped me a lot;

in fact, I think that she is one of the main causes of her being able to be number one today, ”she concedes.

“I have improved a lot thanks to her.

It is super important to have a psychologist or a

by your side, since tennis is demanding week after week;

for a whole year you have to be mentally fresh, you have to know how to withstand pressure, bear that everyone has their eyes on you... So it is super important to know how to face it and without a psychologist, without anyone to help you in that aspect, I would say that it is impossible or much more complicated.

We talk and he gives me advice, he gives me many tools.

In the end you go down the street and they recognize you, and at certain moments we would say that it is a bit overwhelming, ”she adds.

Alcaraz celebrates the victory in the final. ELSA (AFP)

Alcaraz says that he is not a particularly meticulous athlete with routines, although as he answers his speech he contradicts him.

“Obviously, I have my warm-up and I always try to go to the same place with my team, but it's not like: five minutes for me, headphones and such... If I feel like listening to music, I listen to it;

Yes No No.

I go how I feel like at that moment.

But it is true that in the match there are the themes of going for the towel, of catching four balls, throwing them five times;

the bottles, always in order, drink first from one, then from another… And the bite always first to the bar and then to the banana.

These are things that come to mind, manias”, he describes.

I will always be proud that Nadal wins Grand Slams.

If I lose, I'll be cheering him on

A "very basic" boy

One of his wishes is to cross paths with Roger Federer, whom he has admired since he was a child and who has not competed for more than a year.

Although right now I have few

[opportunities], I think, but I would like to.

And beat one of the three [the Swiss, Nadal and Djokovic] in a Grand Slam.

I have always said that to be the best you have to beat the best”, he points out.

He is reminded that these days, Nadal wished him luck in the tournament, but that, if he had to choose, he preferred to regain number one.

“I will always be proud that Rafa wins Grand Slams.

And obviously, if I lose in one, if unfortunately I lose, I will be cheering him on to win, always together with a Spaniard.

And honestly, with a title I don't feel any closer now [laughs].

At the moment I am going to think about the second one and try to achieve it, since very few people have been able to do it.

So for now, that's the goal I have,” he continues.

Alcaraz defines himself as a "very basic" boy who enjoys being "in a bank, a house or a car with four or five friends, laughing and telling us anecdotes.

That's what makes me happy."

The night before he slipped that he is "proud to be from El Palmar and to be from Murcia", to which he added a nuance: "And to be Spanish".

Asked by this newspaper about it, he concludes: “Politics is something I don't pay much attention to.

You get news and I'm a little aware.

When the time comes, I'll see if I vote or not... But I'm proud to be Murcian and Spanish.

I say this with great pride."

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