Dominated and beaten by an impressive Tomas Machac, this Thursday in the quarter-finals of the Masters 1000 in Shanghai, Carlos Alcaraz was inevitably questioned about the big news of this day: the announcement of the future retirement of Rafael Nadal.
If the Spaniard felt that it had no impact on his match and his defeat, he nevertheless admitted that he needed a little time to digest the news.
“I honestly couldn’t believe it. It doesn’t affect me at all before the match. I wasn’t distracted, I was focused on the match, I didn’t think about the Rafa news. But when I saw it, I had a hard time accepting it. I was a little in shock. Fortunately, I saw him an hour before the match, so I had time to accept it and forget about it for a bit before the match. This is a very difficult thing, very difficult news for everyone, and even more so for me. He has been my idol since I started playing tennis. I admire him. It was thanks to him that I wanted to become a professional tennis player. Losing him, in a way, will be difficult for us, so I will try to enjoy his matches as much as possible. But we are going to play in Saudi Arabia (an exhibition, from October 16 to 19), then in the Davis Cup, so I will try to make the most of the time spent with him, but, yes, it’s a shame for tennis and for me too. »
Published on Thursday October 10, 2024 at 4:06 p.m.
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