MY ACCOUNT
Carlos Alcaraz said he never expected to have such a meteoric rise so early in his career after winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title at the Miami Open.
Alcaraz defeated Casper Ruud 7-5 6-4 in the final, making the 18-year-old the youngest ever winner in Miami, beating Novak Djokovic’s previous record when he won it aged 19.
With the win, Alcaraz jumped all the way up number 11 in the world.
Speaking to Tennis Channel after his triumph, Alcaraz said he has already exceeded his goals for this season.
“Of course, I did not expect this,” he said.
“My goal was to end this year in the top-15, and now I’m at 11, close to the top-10. I’m going up so fast, and I think it’s [because of] all the hard work I’m putting in every day.
“Of course my experience from last year has helped me a lot – playing Rafa (Nadal) in Madrid, against (Alexander) Zverev in Acapulco – you have to live that experience to learn.
“When I started playing tennis when I was five or six, I wanted to be number one in the world, and this year I’ve realised I can beat the top players in the world.”
Alcaraz was buoyed by the presence of his coach, former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero, who surprised him the day before the final after being absent throughout the tournament, mourning the death of his father back in Spain.
“Juan Carlos [Ferrero] played everything that I’m playing, he has experienced all that I am experiencing right now, so he has helped me a lot,” he said.
“It’s amazing to have Juan Carlos here with me – I talk with him every day, but it was a surprise when he arrived, I didn’t know anything.
“It was a big surprise and I was really happy [to see him] – I’m really happy to win my first Masters 1000 title with him here.”
With the young Spaniard now drawing comparisons to Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal, Alcaraz said it can only be a good thing.
“If people are comparing you with Rafa, that means you are doing great things, and you are doing it the right way,” he said.
“I’m trying to not think about that – Rafa is Rafa, and I am Carlos Alcaraz – Rafa is one of the best players in the history of tennis, and I am a young man living his dream.
“I looked up to Rafa when I was young, he inspired me a lot, watching his big matches, so to be around him in the tour, and to be able to play against him, is pretty special.”
