Javier Sanchez
Updated Sunday, January 21, 2024-02:04
Crónica Alcaraz flies against a touched Shang and enjoys his easiest victory in a Grand Slam
When
Carlos Alcaraz
arrived in Melbourne on Sunday, January 7, to prepare for the Australian Open, he discovered a pleasant surprise.
His favorite restaurant in London, the Spanish Cambio de Tercio, where he celebrated his victories at Queen's and Wimbledon last year, had two stands at Melbourne Park: one outside the venue, for fans, where they offer chistorra dogs with hot sauce, and others inside, for tennis players and coaches.
Without having to hire a personal chef, without even planning it - tournament director,
Craig Tiley
, is another lover of Cambio de Tercio - Alcaraz can enjoy his favorite dishes during the Grand Slam.
Before or after the games they offer you gazpacho, wonton pasta tacos filled with Russian salad, ham croquettes coated with panko or your favorite tapa of the place, the crispy salmon nigiri with sweet soy and spicy chipotle.
“I have eaten there every day,” he openly confessed yesterday.
An enjoyment on the other side of the world that is just one more detail, one more.
Because in Australia, where he is already in the round of 16 after beating the Chinese
Juncheng Shang
this Saturday 6-1, 6-1 and 1-0 in just one hour, Alcaraz is comfortable, very comfortable.
In 2007,
Roger Federer
, six-time champion there, baptized the first Grand Slam of the year as the Happy Slam and there are many facilities available to the protagonists there.
Beyond delivering the largest check to the champion - $3.1 million -, the Australian great offers all tennis players a complete spa for post-match recovery, a dining room-restaurant run by chef Markus
Werner
, a hair salon , laundry service and, among other things, private vehicles for all trips.
Alcaraz, who is resting at the Crown Towers hotel, a luxurious five-star hotel on the banks of the Yerra River, barely takes 10 minutes from his room to the training courts or the changing rooms of the Rod Laver Arena itself.
Furthermore, despite the absence of his main coach,
Juan Carlos Ferrero
, due to his recent operation on his left knee, the Spaniard can enjoy the comfort of the competition with his entire team, who sleep in adjoining rooms and which year after year is settled.
The relationship with his brother Álvaro
These days he is accompanied by coach
Samuel López , who was
Pablo Carreño
's coach
and has worked for years at the Ferrero Tennis Academy;
his representative
Albert Molina
;
his physiotherapist
Juanjo Moreno
;
and his older brother
Álvaro
, 24 years old, the last one in the front row of his box, with whom he maintains a special relationship.
Last season he already helped him in numerous moments, but this will be a fixture due to his dual role as sparring and support.
Not in vain did Álvaro also harbor the dream of being a professional and he even played in a Spanish club championship with the Murcia Tennis Club - he even faced
Alejandro Davidovich
-.
Not in vain was Álvaro the roommate of the current number two in the world ranking, one above and one below in the bunk bed, one from Real Madrid and the other from Barça.
«Our relationship has been improving.
Before we always fought, typical of brothers, right?
Now I have him there with me, he is taking on a role within the team and it is a pleasure.
Being able to share all these things with my brother is incredible.
I remember the first time I beat him: I was 15 years old and it was the Desserts Queen tournament at my club,” Alcaraz commented this week about the person who accompanies him in all training sessions and whom he addresses at many points during the matches.
Despite his growing experience, the Spaniard continues to be in constant communication with his team during games, seeking that joint celebration, that group support.
The Alcaraz team, this week. JAMES ROSSEFE
After all, many of those present are almost as much a part of his family as his brother Álvaro or his father Carlos, also present in Melbourne.
With the physiotherapist, Moreno, for example, has established a very close bond based on very long warm-ups before the games.
With some curious exercises both have created a routine that is already fixed and will last for many years.
Before the matches they do dynamic stretching and work with rubber bands, which is common, but they also do various games with balls and even some very complicated four-handed juggling.
Then Alcaraz takes a gel, puts on his headphones for a while - he always listens to Eye of the Tiger and Hearts on Fire, that is, the Rocky Original Soundtrack - and is ready to hit the dance floor.
Just in case, if the previous match goes long, he returns to the gym to get on the stationary bike and not get cold, something surprisingly easy these days in Melbourne.
Cold and a visit to the Zoo
Unlike other years, when high temperatures scorched the players, the first week of this Australian Open has been very changeable, even cool and rainy.
In Alcaraz's second round match against the Italian
Lorenzo Sonego
, for example, all the fans ended up putting on a jacket and the player himself admitted that the cold wind had bothered him.
The look that Nike prepared for him for the tournament has been a success, with its sleeveless shirt and pastel colors, but it is made for the heat, it does not allow halftime.
«The weather is being a bit complicated here, it takes getting used to.
I have played with wind, with cold, indoors... what can you do.
In the end it affects us all and we must all adapt.
I think that lately I adapt well and I try to be tough in these circumstances," analyzed Alcaraz who, as they explain, is very involved in the tournament, watching many games in his rest time.
As with other aspects of his life, such as punctuality or order, the number two in the ATP ranking is deepening his professionalism based on study and more study of the circuit.
In fact, only on Saturday the 13th, before his debut in the tournament against
Richard Gasquet,
did he give himself a really free morning to do some sightseeing around Melbourne and visit the city zoo with his team, where he was able to see koalas up close. , kangaroos and the rest of the native fauna.
Then, in the afternoon, upon his return to Melbourne Park, he met
André Agassi,
who joked about the height of his hitting, promised him that he would be in the exhibition match against
Rafa Nadal
that will take place in Las Vegas on March 3 and He wished him luck for the Grand Slam.
At the moment, whoever was number one is a talisman: he has not lacked luck.
The rival in the round of 16
For the first time in his career, Alcaraz faces the second week of the Australian Open with all options open.
So far in the tournament there have been few surprises - Djokovic, Sinner, Rublev, Tsitsipas... continue ahead - but the important thing is his own path.
In the round of 16 he will face Serbian
Miomir Kecmanovic
, with whom he shares little history.
They have only met once, in 2022, in the quarterfinals of the Miami Masters 1000, and the victory went to the Spaniard in three raw sets.
Kecmanovic, who won the 2015 Orange Bowl against Stefanos Tsitsipas and was a benchmark for that generation, is a tennis player with many resources from the back of the court, but quite irregular, depending too much on his mood to obtain results.
In the current Australian Open he has surprised and that is a virtue and, at the same time, a disadvantage.
While Alcaraz has played seven hours, has only given up one set - against Sonego - and is coming from a minimally demanding match against Shang, Kecmanovic has already accumulated 10 hours on the Australian cement and is coming from a grueling duel with
Tommy Paul
.
As happened in his previous match against
Jan-Lennard Struff
, to qualify for the round of 16, the Serbian had to reach the fifth set (6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6(7) and 6- 0) and in the next few hours his recovery will be essential.
Everything smiles for Alcaraz, he is comfortable, very comfortable, in the Australian Open or, as Federer said, the Happy Slam.