Carlos Alcaraz wants to play tennis "happy" - and make history
Carlos Alcaraz (ATP No. 1) talks about his goals in tennis - and what he took from his injury time.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Mar 23, 2023, 10:11 am
Can Carlos Alcaraz become one of the greatest players of all time? If the experts in tennis have their way, the matter is unanimous.
But the 19-year-old himself also has goals of this kind. "I want to beat Nadal and Djokovic, but I'm not there to take a Grand Slam title away from them or prevent one of them from becoming the best of all time. Me just trying to write my own story," he said as part of Eurosport's Player's Voice series .
"I want to win Grand Slams. I'm ambitious and my goals are big, I don't deny that. My dream is to be among the best in history, to try to get close to them somehow. I know it's very complicated - maybe even impossible - will be. But in this world you have to think big and dream big. Ultimately, that's my dream today."
Although he is often compared to Federer, Nadal and Djokovic or described as a mixture of the "Big 3", he has his own identity on the court, Alcaraz also clarified. "I always try to play 'happy' tennis. I see myself as a happy person off the court, so that's how I try to play." For him, having fun on the pitch also means not making it too monotonous, "I try to be creative and create rare, beautiful shots." It is important for him to play with instinct and fun - if he doesn't do that, his tennis is not the same. And life is nicer that way too.
Alcaraz self-critical about injury time
Alcaraz missed the end of last season and the start of the current season due to injury - but he also took something with him from this time. Namely that he did not consistently do 100 percent the right thing. "I mean the breaks, supplements, good nutrition and so on. There were a whole bunch of things that I might not have been doing right. The injury has taught me that I need to get back to the routine I used to have to do all these things right so I can do my best. I think that's what I've done now because of the injury and it's no secret that if you do things right, good results follow."
As for returning from time-outs, Alcaraz was inspired by Nadal and Djokovic. Nadal won the Australian Open out of nowhere last year, Djokovic also celebrated great successes after involuntary breaks. A player who wins tournaments directly after a break: "I want to be like that too."