NEW YORK — Even after treating himself to the most extraordinary pleasures imaginable, Carlos Alcaraz missed tennis enormously. At the US Open he returns to competition feeling great.
“I have realised that tennis is my life, it is my passion,” the Spaniard said, seated in front of the media at a Grand Slam for the first time in seven months.
The last time had been in Melbourne, with the Australian Open trophy. A serious wrist injury cost him Roland Garros and Wimbledon. During that break, he enjoyed the rockstar life: sailing on his yacht in the Mediterranean, spending time with family and childhood friends, going out and being the most special guest at the clubs everywhere in the World.
And the most extraordinary moment of all: carrying the Football World Cup trophy into the stadium at the final, watching his country become champions, celebrating on the pitch with the Spanish team and holding the cup himself. The perks that an injury allows.
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“The truth is that I missed tennis a lot,” the seven-time Grand Slam champion admitted at the US Open.
“I still think about the first times I hit a forehand again, hitting normally. It was a unique feeling — everything was coming back to normal. That made me very happy. And when I arrived in New York, it felt incredible,” said Alcaraz, with a smile on his face.
The 23-year-old also acknowledged that he has learned he does not need to wait for a long injury to enjoy himself more away from the court.
“I also realised that I do not have to wait for an injury of this magnitude to switch off, to have my own time and to escape from how intense the tour is. But it has given me a huge desire to come back.”
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Can you win a Grand Slam after being away for so long?
“Can it be done? It can. There are people who have managed it,” he said.
By “people” he means two of the greatest of all time: “Federer, Nadal. They have done it.”
However, Alcaraz’s goal in New York is far more conservative — very much in line with the extreme caution with which he and his team approached the recovery process.
“I hate losing, that is clear, and I am going all out, but for me the most important thing is to leave this tournament healthy, to have been able to compete, to have trained with these kinds of players, to have had my wrist hold up, to have had my body hold up,” he said.
There will be no Sinner-Alcaraz at this tournament either. The Spaniard’s return coincided with a right knee injury for the Italian.
“It is a slightly strange situation, honestly. We are not going to see each other for something like six, seven months. I wish him the best — hopefully he has a very good recovery and we see him back better than ever,” said the former world No. 1.
“There are a lot of players with physical problems, with injuries. I think that reflects how packed the calendar is throughout the year,” added Alcaraz, who returns to competition this Sunday when he steps onto Arthur Ashe to face Russian Roman Safiullin.
