Just a few hours after being awarded as the new number one in the world of tennis as is the tradition in Paris, Carlos Alcaraz will debut this Wednesday at the Masters 1000 in the French capital.
The tennis player from El Palmar will face Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka in the second round, whom he has never faced in an ATP match. The duel will begin around 3:00 p.m. on the center court of Paris-Bercy. The duel can be seen on television on Movistar and can also be followed live online on the La Vanguardia website.
Alcaraz goes to Paris as number one in the world but he will have to defend that privileged place. Nadal threatens him, because if the Murcian falls at the first change and the Majorcan adds the first Paris Masters 1000 of his career, there would be a change of command in the tennis front.
Alcaraz already knows his first rival in the Paris Masters, the Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka, ranked 38 and who last Monday defeated Russian Aslán Karátsev (58) 6-3, 6-4 in the first round.
The young Spaniard had the toughest part of the draw than two of the other favorites, such as Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, and could already face the Polish Hubert Hurkacz (10) or the Russian Andrey Rublev (8) in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals they could play the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, ninth in the world and who has always beaten him, or the Russian Daniil Medvedev, fourth.
Alcaraz, minimized the problems that he drags in a knee, considered them "normal" for a season finale and asserted that among the favorites for the Paris Masters is his executioner in Basel, the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, whom he sees "untreatable" .
"I feel good, at the end of the season physical problems come to light and it's normal, you have to deal with them and show the best version," Alcaraz said at a press conference before his debut on Wednesday in Paris-Bercy against Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka.
The Spaniard pointed out that "at the end of the season all the players have physical problems" and insisted that in his case "it's nothing serious." Among the favorites for this tournament, from which Alcaraz was eliminated last year in the round of 16 by Frenchman Hugo Gaston, he cited Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal, Daniil Medvedev and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
"Felix is intractable, although many other players can win this tournament, I obviously do not remove myself from that list," he said, smiling. Finishing as number one in the world in 2022 does not take away his sleep, assured the Spanish tennis player. "There are other great players who have the opportunity to overtake me (in the standings), I don't take it as pressure, but rather as an incentive to show better tennis and keep growing," he said.
Alcaraz assumed that in his career success has come "very quickly, faster than I expected", but he clarified that this has not changed his relationship with his family, team and friends. "Let's say that I lead my normal life, although my relationship with the fans and the media has changed," he concluded.
