ATP Masters Miami: Carlos Alcaraz - "I will enjoy it"
Carlos Alcaraz is facing the most important match of his young career. However, the 18-year-old was not overly impressed in the run-up to the Miami final against Casper Ruud .
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Apr 03, 2022, 02:26 pm
The hype surrounding Carlos Alcaraz cannot be ignored in the world of tennis these days. The 18-year-old Spaniard also thrilled the crowds at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami, with some sensational performances he played his way into the final in Florida. In the semi-finals, Alcaraz took the defending champion Hubert Hurkacz out of the tournament.
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"It's something you dream of as a child. It's really nice to be in the final here in Miami. I love playing here. The audience is incredible," said Alcaraz after his semi-final success. With a final win over Casper Ruud, he could even become the youngest Miami winner of all time.
Alcaraz pushes the pressure aside
But that seems to leave the protégé of Juan Carlos Ferrero, who flew to Miami especially for the final after the death of his recently deceased father, without a trace. "I'll approach the final like a first round and try to cover up the nervousness. I'll enjoy it. It'll be a great final," predicted Alcaraz before the duel with Ruud.
A positive aspect for the Iberian could be that Ruud is also in his first final at Masters 1000 level. The fact that the clay court lover was able to do this on a hard court of all things was mainly due to his strong development in the previous season. It was not for nothing that Ruud reached the semi-finals at the ATP Finals.
Ruud with a different attitude
He now competes in hard court events with a different attitude, says Ruud: "I've never felt bad on hard courts, but it's just that my game seems to be a little better on clay. I had my best until last year Got results on clay. I think that's still the case."
Before the Norwegian can return to his favorite surface, however, he also has the biggest match of his career ahead of him. The young Spaniard clearly won the only duel between Ruud and Alcaraz in the 2021 quarterfinals in Marbella 6: 2 and 6: 4.
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