Carlos Alcaraz makes 'kill us' comment as he makes shocking motivation confession
Yesterday at 02:17 PM
Carlos Alcaraz has already achieved so much in tennis at the tender age of 21, but he has admitted his motivation has waned at times in the opening phase of his career.
Alcaraz’s remarkable 2024 season has seen him add the French Open title to his collection for the first time, while he also defended his Wimbledon title in hugely impressive fashion after demolishing Novak Djokovic in the final.
Yet he has looked a little jaded in recent weeks, especially after he crashed out of the US Open early following a defeat against Botic Van de Zandschulp from the Netherlands.
Despite his fatigue, Alcaraz played in the Davis Cup for Spain last week and is cashing in on the big appearance fees on offer at the Laver Cup this week.
Even though he is playing on his least favourite indoor conditions, Alcaraz pulled off an impressive win against America’s Ben Shelton to boost Team Europe’s hopes of winning back the Laver Cup.
Now, in a revealing press conference in Berlin, Alcaraz opened up on how he has struggled to maintain his motivation and focus at times over the last few months.
“Well, honestly it is difficult. I mean, sometimes I didn’t feel motivated at all,” he confessed.
“It is a difficult moment. As I said many times, you know, the calendar is so tight, a lot of tournaments, no days off or not as many days off as I want.
“Sometimes I really want to take some days for myself that I can’t because I have to practice, I have to travel, I have to, you know, the jet lag sometimes when you’re travelling around the world.
“So sometimes you don’t want to go to tournaments, I’m not gonna lie.
“I have been feeling this, you know, this feeling a few times already that I don’t want to go to that tournament because I want to stay at home with my family or my friend.
Carlos Alcaraz News
Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Rafael Nadal could line up for final showdown of 2024
Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz show hypocrisy amid schedule protests
“But I have to find the motivation just to go and put the right tennis or the right face in the practice and on the matches.
“I’m a business guy. I always want to win every match that I go, but as I said many, many times, my best tennis shows up when I’m smiling and enjoying on court, and sometimes difficult to find that rhythm or that good feeling.
“So, I mean, I want to be focused on my team and my family and try to play my best in every practice, in every match, to be at the top of the ranking. I think it is the best option to keep motivated.”
He also warned against players playing too many tournaments, as he insisted the tennis calendar is already packed.
“A lot of players want to play more or even more. A lot of players feel like, okay, it is a good calendar,” he added.
“And a lot of players say that it’s really tight and a lot of tournaments during the whole year. I’m the kind of player who thinks there is a lot of tournaments during the year, mandatory tournaments and probably during the next few years gonna be even more tournaments, more mandatory tournaments. So, I mean, probably they are going to kill us in some way (smiling).
“Right now they are showing up a lot of injuries because of the ball, because of the calendar, because of a lot of things. So probably at some point a lot of good players are going to miss a lot of tournaments because of that because they have to think about their bodies, they have to take care of their love.
“I mean, they have family, they have a lot of other stuff in life than tennis. So they have to take care of it, as well. So it’s getting too much, I guess.”
Alcaraz’s comments about the packed tennis schedule will add to the debate over what comes next in the sport, but cynics may argue he should not be playing in events like the Laver Cup if he wants more time to rest away from the court.
The post Carlos Alcaraz makes ‘kill us’ comment as he makes shocking motivation confession appeared first on Tennis365.
