Alcaraz riding high, but still wary of testing field in Barcelona

On Tuesday 20 April 2021, Carlos Alcaraz lost his opener in the main draw of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell against Frances Tiafoe. Back then, as one of the future promises of the ATP Tour, a wild card allowed him to play on the Catalan clay as the No. 119 in the PIF ATP Rankings. He has not lost at the ATP 500 event since that day.

Alcaraz is on a 10-match winning streak in Barcelona, having won back-to-back titles in 2022-23. Last year an injury prevented him from playing, but this time around he is ready to return to competition in Barcelona and he will arrive as the recently crowned champion of Monte-Carlo.

“It’s a privilege for me to return to Barcelona, which I feel was and is my home,” admitted the Spaniard on Monday as he arrived at Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899. “I’m very happy to be able to come here, with the Monte Carlo title, feeling confident and above all feeling fit. I’m ready to compete and to feel the warmth of my people. Playing in Barcelona, in Spain, again is an incredible feeling.”

However, Alcaraz was quick to play down any ideas that he is the favourite, despite his unbeaten run and his success on Sunday in Monte-Carlo, where he claimed his second trophy of the season (also in Rotterdam).

“I gained a lot of confidence in Monte-Carlo,” confessed the Murcia native. “I wasn’t expecting to win, just to get some time on clay and ending up winning the title gives me a lot of confidence for what is to come. But that’s not the same as seeing myself as the favourite on the clay swing... nowadays there’s a long list of players who can make a splash at every tournament.”

In Barcelona, for example, there are a number of serious contenders. Besides Alcaraz, there are plenty of hopefuls such as defending champion Casper Ruud, four-time finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas and the ever-dangerous Andrey Rublev, Alex de Minaur and Holger Rune.

The Spaniard continued: “You go to tournaments without knowing who might win, there are always six or seven players who could do it. I don’t know, I wouldn’t say I’m favourite for the clay swing. I just arrive with expectations as low as possible. The important thing for me is to enjoy myself and, above all, leave the court happy.”

At 21 years of age, the World No. 2 is one of the youngest members of the Tour's elite. However, there are already a number of names coming up behind him, such as Jakub Mensik, who won the ATP Masters 1000 trophy in Miami this year, Joao Fonseca, who claimed his first tour-level title in Buenos Aires in February, and Arthur Fils, who was close to defeating Alcaraz in Monte-Carlo. All of them are still teenagers.

“I think we’re in a very good moment, in the sense that there are a lot of young players capable of winning big titles, fighting for big things,” said Alcaraz of the future of the ATP Tour.

“We’ve seen it with Mensik, who’s a player who is going to keep growing but is already established. Joao Fonseca is a player I love watching, I think he has unique charisma on court at his age. I played Arthur Fils in Monte Carlo and I came off court amazed at his power, physique and the level he could reach,” he added.

On Tuesday, the Spaniard will start his campaign in Barcelona against American qualifier Ethan Quinn as he bids to win three titles from one tournament for the first time. “Even though I want to win every tournament I go to, I think this is a little more special and of course I’m hoping to go deep,” he said.

Alcaraz is playing at home, a fact that will be reflected in the atmosphere. He is the biggest star of the week at a tournament where a lot of home fans will be trying to get their hands on a ticket and catch a glimpse of him. “There are people who maybe can’t travel outside of Spain, this is the tournament they can come to and of course I want to go as far as possible.” We will find out if he is successful from 15 to 20 April.

Editor's note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es