Carlos Alcaraz is a spectacle to watch for the sporting stars and he does his best to entertain them all but he confessed about being star-struck by the top sportsmen in the stands.
NBA star Jimmy Butler, Argentine legend Juan Martin del Potro, Brazilian footballer Neymar Jr. were among the audiences at the Miami Open on Monday evening. The 2-time major winner produced his usual high-intensity brand of tennis in his straight sets win over Gael Monfils whom he defeated 6-2, 6-4 in the R3 clash.
Though, Alcaraz has a habit of playing in front of celebrities but he still gets nervous and has a few butterflies whenever an A-lister arrives at the scene.
“It’s kind of difficult to stay focused on the match, having such legends from every sport,” said the 20-year-old.
“It’s great for me. I try to show great tennis, try to make them happy as well, make them enjoy watching my games. It’s a great opportunity to have them here, to talk with them a little bit. It’s great to put on a show in front of them.”
Alcaraz added: “Most of the time I don’t know who is going to come to the game, but today I knew they were going to come. I spoke to Neymar a little before and he told me that he was coming with Jimmy Butler. So I knew beforehand.”
When questioned about their post-match talk, Alcaraz responded:
“A little bit of everything. I was talking a little about Neymar, about how he is doing with his knee, recovering, step by step,” the Murcian replied.
“He’s here for a couple of days, enjoying Miami a little, and that’s all we talk about. Then, with Jimmy, too, he has a very important match tomorrow. I wish him good luck and I hope he arrives.”
As for his opponent, the, Monfils, the World No. 2 broke the Frenchman’s serve twice in both sets and made excellent use of his lethal forehand throughout the contest.
Alcaraz, though, had nothing but respect for the ATP #47.
“He’s a great athlete. He reaches almost every ball,” he said. “But at the same time, with my forehand, my best shot, I tried to move him around the court, tried to get him tired a little bit and give myself the chance to dominate the point, trying to go to the net and hitting my best shots.”
The 2023 Wimbledon champion added: “It’s always fun playing against Gael. It’s very good for me to share the track with him. We both try to smile all the time.
“We try to enjoy playing tennis almost every second when we play a match. I think that thanks to that we can offer very good tennis, a very good show to the fans, to the people too.”