Carlos Alcaraz dedicates camera message to father on his birthday after Madrid 2R win
Carlos Alcaraz wrote a birthday message for his father on the camera following a hard-fought win over Emil Ruusuvuori in his Madrid Masters opener on Friday, April 28.
In an unexpectedly competitive clash, the top seed was slow off the blocks, getting broken twice as he dropped the opening set. With Ruusuvuori denying the Spaniard an early break in the second set, Alcaraz found himself on the brink of being broken again, serving at 2-3, 15-40.
However, bringing his elite mentality to the fore, the Spanish teenager dug deep and saved five break points in that titanic game to hold serve. Alcaraz broke his opponent to force a decider, where the 19-year-old dropped just two games to bring up his 24th win in 26 matches this season.
Following the win, Alcaraz wrote a birthday message for his father on the camera:
"Feliz Cumple(anos) Papa"
The English translation of the same is "Happy Birthday Papa".
Here's the video:
Happy birthday, Papa Alcaraz! 🥳
@carlosalcaraz #MMOpen https://t.co/TTWTAMXw2P
Alcaraz's only losses this year came in the Rio de Janeiro final to Cameron Norrie and Jannik Sinner in the Miami semifinals. The Spaniard was defending the title at both tournaments.
"It was tough for me to get used to the conditions" - Carlos Alcaraz
Fresh off his successful title defense in Barcelona last week, Carlos Alcaraz nearly stumbled in his opener in high-altitude Madrid against Ruusuvuori.
Admitting his difficulties adjusting to the conditions - higher bounce due to the altitude - the Spaniard commended his opponent for playing better in the opening exchanges.
Alcaraz said in his on-court interview:
"It was tough for me to get used to the conditions. There is so much altitude here, the ball bounces a lot. I am not going to use excuses. Emil was better than me until 3-3 in the second set."
The Spaniard continued:
"Hitting the ball with no mistakes, serving well with a lot of rhythm, and I could not follow his rhythm. It was tough for me to stay with him. But I am happy to come back and finish with a lot of confidence."
Carlos Alcaraz is pursuing his tenth singles - and fourth Masters 1000 - title this week. The World No. 2 faces Grigor Dimitrov for a place in the fourth round next.
If he wins the title in Madrid, Alcaraz will reclaim the World No. 1 position on May 22 by appearing in his Rome opener regardless of how defending champion Novak Djokovic - who's absent this week in Madrid - fares.