Carlos Alcaraz shuts down interviewer with menacing French Open warning to rivals
Carlos Alcaraz made a confident statement after beating Sebastian Korda at the French Open.
Carlos Alcaraz shut down suggestions that he was concerned about one of his opponents in a menacing message to the rest of the French Open field. The world No. 3 defeated Sebastian Korda in his third-round match on Friday night.
Interviewer Mats Wilander asked Alcaraz whether he had been worried about facing the tricky American. But he had a confident response.
The Spaniard also gave an update on the state of his forehand after battling an arm issue throughout the clay season. And his rivals won’t be happy to hear that Alcaraz is back to his usual dangerous self.
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After surviving a scare against qualifier Jesper De Jong in his second-round match, it was a routine victory for Alcaraz in his next contest. Korda, 27th seed, looked to be a challenging opponent for the Spaniard, having beaten him on a clay court in the past.
But the two-time Grand Slam champion looked like his usual self, stunning the crowd with impressive shots and firing his forehand down the court as he sealed a 6-4 7-6(5) 6-3 win. After the match, Alcaraz shut down a reporter’s suggestions that he had feared his match-up with Korda.
“Sebastian Korda is a great player. Were you worried about the match before?” Wilander, a three-time French Open, asked Alcaraz on Court Philippe-Chatrier. But Alcaraz simply replied: “Not really.”
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He went on to elaborate, claiming he wasn’t worried at all. “I know my skills. Obviously Sebastian is a great player. A really good ball striker. He hits the ball really clean,” Alcaraz continued. “It’s difficult to play him. It was like a marathon for me. I had to run side to side a lot. I wasn’t worried at all. I know what I’m capable of, my skills. I know it’s really difficult for him as well.”
Alcaraz isn’t just feeling confident either. The 21-year-old has rediscovered his biggest weapon following weeks of physical issues. He missed three of four warm-up events on the clay because of a forearm injury and admitted ahead of the French Open that he was still scared to go for his forehand 100 per cent as a result.
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But he finally let go of the fear and went for it against Korda. And with his forehand back to its best, he will be even tougher to beat on the Parisian clay. “Today was I think more demanding match for me. At some point I forget about everything and I hit the forehand normally, let's say,” he said after the match.
“I think during the whole match, I hit my forehand really well, with more intensity. In the second set tiebreak I hit it to forehand, and I thought that I miss it. I miss this kind of forehand, this kind of moments. Yeah, I felt really well after those shots. Yeah, it's something that's getting better and better.”
