Carlos Alcaraz, some numbers to dream of and a head to win: "He has evolved a lot on a mental level"

• Chronicle Carlos Alcaraz knocks down another door: he wins in Rio and becomes the youngest to win an ATP 500

• Reactions Carlos Alcaraz enters the Top 20 of the ATP and promises war: "I see myself prepared"

Rio de Janeiro

will always be special for

(El Palmar, 2003).

The Murcian appeared before world tennis in the Brazilian city, in

, at the

, just before the pandemic stopped the planet.

He beat Albert Ramos and added his first victory in the ATP.

He was

.

This Sunday,

, the last prodigy of the national racket made history.

towards Christ the Redeemer

, became the youngest to achieve it since the creation of the category in 2009 and today, at

, he has woken up within the

.

A speed to enter the elite that surpasses that of

(18 and 10),

(19 and 4) or

(19 and 8).

Alcaraz has accelerated more than almost everyone.

The statistics of the last 30 years speak of the greatness of what Alcaraz has achieved: He is the

, after

(17 years and 9 months), the Ukrainian,

(18 and 5, not to be confused with the Russian Daniil) and

(18 and 6) and his feat places him in the list of tennis players, most of them legends, who managed to settle in the

.

There's the

,

,

,

,

,

,

,

... The last one, curiosities of destiny, had been

, starting a

that has ended 17 years later with the jump of the one who for many is his heir.

"He's still the same as when I met him"

Comparisons between

and

are as logical as they are dangerous.

"He is Carlos and only Carlos", repeats the environment of him.

In the season in which he turned

, the same as Alcaraz will do next May, Nadal won the

and

Masters and lifted the title at

, completing one of the great explosions in the history of tennis.

Repeating that will be impossible, or almost impossible, for an Alcaraz who was two years old when Rafa raised his first Musketeers Cup.

"It has evolved in order, in discipline and in knowing how to work,"

, Murcia's coach and key person in Alcaraz's first steps in professional tennis, explains to EL MUNDO.

Mind and physique have gone hand in hand in a learning stage on and off the slopes.

A few months in which the

has always been in the shadow of every achievement of Carlos and that he, with a humility and maturity that continue to surprise those closest to him, has managed.

"He is an 18-year-old boy who also needs his moments to de-stress.

. He works with a

of Valencia the weak points that little by little it is strengthening.

For example, from the final of the Umag tournament (July 2021, his first ATP 250 category title) to this final in Rio there are many

, very significant improvements have been seen.

On Sunday he knew

.

And as a person he has matured.

Within the team we talk a lot about

, that they talk about you all the time... And

, he's still exactly the same as when I met him.

Although he wins tournaments,

and the team is very much on top of those little details," Ferrero reflected after his pupil admitted on Sunday that he was working "a lot on emotional management, on knowing how to handle nerves in those moments when matches are decided."

"On the right path to be number 1 in the world"

Entering

is a turning point in Alcaraz's career, something "

", admits Ferrero, former number 1 in the world.

From now on, Alcaraz will be able to act as the top seed in many tournaments and avoid some 'coconuts' in the first rounds.

"Last year in Acapulco it was

's turn . If you have quality you have to play and beat the best, but it's decisive," adds Ferrero.

To win in Rio, for example, the Spaniard had to beat

(89th in the ranking),

(37th),

(6th),

(38th) and

And on the Brazilian clay, still with the trophy in his arms, Alcaraz already visualized his future in the short and long term.

"This title gives me a lot of confidence in what I am doing because I consider that I am

. I dream big and hopefully I can win Olympic medals and Grand Slam titles. If I don't deviate from this path , I know I will have opportunities, but I know how difficult it is and I am clear that

", explained the Murcian, very ambitious but down to earth thanks to his family and his environment.

"Setting

, the objectives must be to correct the things that it does not do well, because the results will come due to its quality.

It has a lot of potential," says Ferrero.

Visible face of the new generation

Alcaraz, who has more ATP points than the rest of the tennis players under the age of 19 combined, is the visible face of the next generation of world tennis, the one that intends, finally, to dethrone the Big-3 made up of

.

The

(26 years old),

(24),

(23) or

(21) are already installed in the elite, but since 2017 only Thiem (28) and the Russian have been able to win a

( both the US Open).

The Murcian appears in his own right as a silent threat to the future in the short and medium term.

Next to him,

(20),

(21) or

(19).

"He has won these two tournaments on clay, but his most important result is the

. He likes the hard court, I would even say that he is more comfortable on it than on clay. He has improved a lot and I would not like it to be insisted on." in that the Spaniards can only win on clay. But obviously, doing well at Roland Garros will be a goal", insists Ferrero about the next Grand Slam of the season.

Earlier, Alcaraz will appear at the

(both on hard courts) and then jump onto the gravel

en route to Paris.

Last year he did not play the first tournament, lost in the first round in the second, did not play the Monte

and

Masters and fell in the second round in

against Nadal, so he barely defends points until Roland Garros and the chances of reaching

with a higher ranking are very high.

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