'I know what Carlos Alcaraz can do', says former No.1

Carlos Alcaraz confirms his participation in the next Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell

'I know what Carlos Alcaraz can do', says former No.1

Carlos Alcaraz confirms his participation in the next Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell – 70th Conde de GodĂł Trophy, which will be held on the courts of the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona-1899 from April 15 to 23. In this way, the number one in world tennis will defend the title that he won last year in a historic final against Pablo Carreño. Alcaraz is the first tennis player confirmed for the next edition of the tournament, which already has tickets on sale. At 19 years old, trained by Juan Carlos Ferrero, the Murcian completed a dream 2022 season that raised him to number one in the ATP ranking, being the youngest tennis player to do so since he began the ranking in 1973. Alcaraz played a total of 17 tournaments and won five titles (out of seven finals played), the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, the US Open, the Mutua Madrid Open, the Miami Masters 1,000 and the ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro. He is very young, but the Spanish tennis player showed unusual solidity and reached at least the semifinals in nine of the seventeen tournaments. “Carlos Alcaraz is a unique player, with a lot of charisma and who also has fun on the court. He has exceptional conditions to be able to dominate the point against any rival and that makes him different from any other player. And we are talking about a number one in the world who has been the youngest in history to achieve it. He still has a whole career ahead of him to continue to improve and develop as a player. He will be the great dominator of the circuit for the next ten years, without a doubt,” says David Ferrer, sports director of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. In recent years, the Barcelona tournament has served as a springboard to discover emerging stars such as Daniil Medvedev or Stefanos Tsitsipas, who starred in the finals held in 2018, 2019 and 2021. Barcelona, a track he knows very well Carlos Alcaraz made his first debut on the RCTB-1899 tracks at the age of 11 and, since then, he has played on numerous occasions until he became a professional.

Alcaraz shone this year

Elected ATP coach of the year 2022 by his peers, Juan Carlos Ferrero, who had an exceptional season alongside his player, Carlos Alcaraz, wanted to look back on the day he worked for the first time with the youngest world number one in history. “When he first came to the academy at 15 he was a stick man, he was quick but had no muscles. Despite this, we saw something very special. His rise came very quickly, it's a surprise for everyone, except for me, because I train with him every day and I know what he can do. I was sure that if it wasn't this year, it would be the next. Now we want to continue."