“He encouraged me not to doubt”, Alacaraz wants to take an example from Topuria to triumph

In his press conference on the eve of the Australian Open, world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz explained what he learned from UFC fighter Ilia Topuria in terms of self-confidence and ability to be able to turn everything around.

World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz is approaching the Australian Open, the only major tournament missing from his record, with appetite. At the dawn of a 2025 season which he hopes will be synonymous with a return to the top, even if the ranking will not be his “main objective”, the Spaniard, winner of Roland-Garros and Wimbledon last season, intends to score minds in Melbourne.

If he were to triumph Down Under, Alcaraz would become the youngest player in history to win the four biggest tournaments. The only favorite to be able to claim to have beaten the indisputable boss of the circuit, Jannik Sinner, in recent months (he even emerged victorious from their three clashes in 2024), Carlos Alcaraz will draw on the lessons learned from fighter Ilia Topuria to contest again the supremacy of Darren Cahill’s protégé.

“I was inspired by him”

“I never really turned to anyone for advice or inspiration in difficult times. But hey, it’s true that I already mentioned Ilia Topuria during the ATP Finals,” said confided Carlos Alcaraz during his press conference given on the eve of the Australian Open. UFC featherweight champion, the Spanish fighter of Georgian origin Ilia Topuria is held in high esteem by Carlos Alcaraz, who had the opportunity, during the last Masters 1000 in Madrid, to exchange balls with the superstar of the UFC.

“We always go through difficult times, moments of doubt. And I must admit that seeing him inhabited by this self-confidence before each fight inspired me, encouraged me not to have doubts, but on the contrary to know who I am, to be aware of what I have and to move forward. This self-confidence has sometimes allowed me to emerge victorious in my matches. I was inspired by him. at quite a length Alcaraz. In the first round of the Australian Open, the world No. 3 will face Kazakh Alexander Shevchenko, before a potential quarter-final against Serbian Novak Djokovic.