Focused on their quarter-final match Shanghai Masters 1000 before Machac, Carlos Alcaraz He stopped his workout at the gym to respond to a notification that popped up on his cell phone.
Yeah, Rafa Nadal had announced his retirement from professional tennis and the Murcian, originally from China, could not believe what he was seeing.
His entire team joined him to watch Manacorí’s video. Some got excited while Carlitos was still processing the information.
A few hours later, after coming face to face with Machac, Alcaraz explained how he experienced it: “I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. It didn’t affect me at all before the match or distract me. I didn’t think about Rafa’s news. This was difficult to accept. I was shocked“.
“I’m grateful I saw him an hour before the game, to give me time to accept it and forget it. This is very difficult news“, he added during a press conference.
For Alcaraz, Nadal’s withdrawal means something else: “He has always been my idol when I started playing tennis and grew up watching it. “Thanks to him, I wanted to become a professional tennis player.”
“Losing him, in a way, is going to be a difficult thing for everyone. We will try to enjoy him no matter what he plays. Now in Saudi, then in Davis.. It’s a sad day for tennis and for me“, he settled.
“Thanks to him, I really wanted to become a professional tennis player”
A beautiful moment like @CarlosAlcaraz and the team watch the video of Rafa’s retreat in the Shanghai gym together 💙🥹 pic.twitter.com/celMxjL83r
– Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 10, 2024
