Gruelling schedule highlighted as Carlos Alcaraz runs from stadium to airport
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz celebrates with the trophy after winning the China Open in Beijing on Oct 2.
PHOTO: AFP
SHANGHAI – Carlos Alcaraz said on Oct 3 he had no time to celebrate his China Open triumph because of the gruelling tennis schedule, as he rushed straight from the stadium to catch a flight to the ongoing Shanghai Masters.
The Spaniard defeated world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in three hours and 21 minutes on the night of Oct 2 in Beijing, but by noon the next day, he was already at a press conference in Shanghai.
The 21-year-old has previously said that the men’s schedule is “going to kill us”, and that “we have to do something about it”, but on Oct 3 seemed to rein in his criticism.
“The tennis schedule is so, so tight, we’re travelling from tournament to tournament with just one or two days before the tournament begins, so it is difficult, but we have to get used to it,” Alcaraz said.
He told reporters that he had to take all his luggage to the stadium with him before the Beijing final, and only had time to do a press conference and take a shower before “running” to the airport.
He then shared a private jet with Sinner and their teams from Beijing to Shanghai.
“I just did everything in a rush... we arrived here in Shanghai super late so I couldn’t sleep as much as I wanted,” he said, adding that it was 4am by the time he got to the eastern Chinese city.
He will play his first match of the tournament on Oct 5 against Shang Juncheng, who became only the second player from China to win an ATP Tour singles title when he won the Chengdu Open in September.
“I’m going to approach the match the same way that I approach every match, I’m going to prepare as best as I can,” added Alcaraz, who rose one spot to world No. 2 following his fourth title in 2024.
“I hope to keep playing the same way that I’m playing and let’s see what’s going to happen, but I’ll be ready.”
Italy’s Sinner will also be playing in Shanghai, with many seeing the rivalry between the two as the new narrative of the men’s game.
“We are not close friends, but I think the respect that we have puts us in a position that we have a really good relationship,” Alcaraz said of his rival, with each winning two Grand Slam titles in 2024.
Also eyeing the trophy is Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, who has won four times in Shanghai and is targeting a 100th singles title.
Meanwhile in the China Open WTA event, Coco Gauff came from behind on Oct 3 to beat Ukrainian qualifier Yuliia Starodubtseva 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the semi-finals.
The 2023 US Open champion will face Spaniard Paula Badosa, who ended the fairy-tale run of China’s 595th-ranked Zhang Shuai with a 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) win. REUTERS