Carlos Alcaraz isn’t backing a bit on his comments made about the ATP calendar as the world No. 3 claimed to reporters in Beijing that “a lot of players” hold the same views and perspective on the matter.
In case you missed it, the Spaniard aired his frustration with the schedule during his Laver Cup appearance in Berlin last week. And while doing so, the four-time Grand Slam champion went as far as to say that it could “kill us in some ways.”
“Probably they are going to kill us in some way. Right now a lot of good players are going to miss a lot of tournaments because of that. Sometimes, you don’t want to go to a tournament. I’m not going to lie — I have felt this way a few times already. Sometimes I don’t feel motivated at all. But as I’ve said many, many times, I play my best tennis when I smile and enjoy it on court. That’s the best option to keep motivating (myself),” Alcaraz said a couple of days ago.
This week, the 21-year-old arrived in Beijing to start his Asian swing. And after arriving in China’s capital, he was asked about the comments he made just a couple of days ago. And in his answer, the Spaniard didn’t sound like he had any regrets.
“I’ve seen and I’ve heard a lot of players complain about the schedule, about the calendar as well,” Alcaraz said in Beijing.
Alcaraz responds to Jannik Sinner’s comment
Following the comment that the Spanish tennis star made, Sinner was asked to share his thoughts on the calendar. And not to say that the world No. 1 didn’t agree with the four-time Major winner, but he gave a pretty politically correct answer which basically shut down the claim that was made by one of his biggest rivals.
“The schedule is quite long obviously these years. But we players, we can still choose what to play and what not to play,” the Italian said.
During his pre-tournament presser in Beijing, Alcaraz was told about Sinner’s comment and asked to address that. The world No. 3 proceeded to highlight that he made his personal view on the entire situation in Berlin but again indicated that it wasn’t something that was favoring players.
“it’s about different feelings in every person. So I’m talking about myself, that the schedule, it’s been so tight since the first week of January till the last week of November. We have to talk about it ourselves and we have to do something about it,” the Spaniard said.
Carlos Alcaraz© YouTube screenshot
Alcaraz had a special message for Rafael Nadal
During his press conference, the 21-year-old didn’t speak only about the calendar but he also touched on Nadal and what is expected to happen in the very near future.
After losing in the Paris Olympics second round and then pulling out of the US Open and Laver Cup because he wasn’t ready to play, the 22-time Grand Slam champion agreed to represent Spain at the Davis Cup Finals in November. Considering how the last couple of months have gone, the general belief and expectation is that the 38-year-old has decided to retire by playing for Spain one last time in the Davis Cup.
Alcaraz, who has also signed up to play, underlined that he is excited about the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga but also expressed his hope that it won’t be Nadal’s last tournament as a pro tennis player.
“I don’t want to think that it is a potential last dance for him in Malaga. Obviously it is a great support having him in the team.He can bring a lot of experience. For me it’s going to be my first Davis Cup final, it’s going to be a great experience for me. To have the chance to spend more time off the court, on the court as well with him, it’s going to be great for Team Spain and I think for the country as well that we’re playing in Spain. Hopefully it’s not going to be the last time for him,” the 21-year-old said.
Meanwhile, Alcaraz is set to make his second appearance in Beijing this week. The Spaniard, seeded at No. 2, will start his run by taking on Giovanni Mpetshi-Perricard for the first time in his career – a match where he is the absolute favorite despite not doing well during the summer on hard courts.
Last year, the world No. 3 enjoyed a solid China Open debut, having reached the semifinal before losing to Sinner in two sets.
In the next 10 days, Alcaraz will be hoping to make a deep Beijing run and put a very disappointing US Open behind him.