The young Spanish talent Carlos Alcaraz is the big star who will light up the 2024 edition of the Laver Cup. The exhibition tournament that sees Roger Federer among its main founders and that honors the legend of Rod Laver, sees the Spaniard as the most awaited man: for him it will be the first time in the ranks of Team Europe.
In an interview with EFE, Carlitos revealed an anecdote about when, a few years ago, he had the opportunity to train with Roger, thanks to his current coach Juan Carlos Ferrero. On that occasion Alcaraz was unable to express his admiration for what was probably his great idol.
“I had the chance to warm up with him thanks to Juan Carlos, who had trained with Roger a few days before and told him that he was working with a junior and that he wanted this opportunity. Unfortunately at that time I didn’t speak English very well and this thing, in addition to my normal nervousness, was that I could not say almost anything. I only got out a: Hello, how are you and little else. Now that we are here at Laver I would like to spend some time with him and talk about many things,” explained Carlitos.
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His countryman Rafael Nadal will not be attending the event in Berlin.
“I will miss Rafa here a lot, unfortunately he withdrew at the last minute but I hope he gets better soon and I can meet him as soon as possible. I hope we can still continue to experience his tennis and playing here with him would have been special. This thing has made me feel hopeful and I hope to see him again in a tournament. Davis? Participating in the finals in Malaga is something that excites me a lot and it would be extraordinary to see Rafa still there,” explained Carlitos.
A few hours earlier, Federer had told a curious anecdote about him and Alcaraz, expressing his intention to apologize to the Spanish tennis player, this week in Berlin. The 20-time Grand Slam champion said he can’t wait to see the Roland Garros and Wimbledon 2024 champion in action.
“I barely know Carlos Alcaraz, Federer said, so I’m really excited to see him play for the first time here. I’ve only trained with him once at Wimbledon when he was still a junior, and then the next day, my coach said to me: Do you want to warm up with him again? and I said: No, that’s fine, I’d rather warm up with his coach, who was from my generation, Juan Carlos Ferrero,” he said.