"A little yes" - Alcaraz admits feeling surprised about meteoric rise

| by Drew Tate

Carlos Alcaraz did not expect to have such a dramatic rise this year but the Spaniard is happy about it and doesn't mind the pressure.

Great champions are far and few in between and Carlos Alcaraz has proved at an early age that he's certainly capable of being just that. It will take some mor success for the Spaniard to truly elevated himself to that status but pretty much everyone in the tennis world agrees that he's going to be great for a long time.

His rise this year has been somewhat surprising and somewhat spectacular but it was never in doubt. He knows it although it did catch him by surprise a little bit as he admitted in a recent interview:

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“The truth is that a little yes, I have had surprising results this year, I did not expect to evolve as fast as I did, but I work for it. As I always say, hard work pays off, although in my case it was all a bit quick and surprising.”

With the increased success comes higher expectations but he's always had lofty goals and he never shied away from admitting so:

“I know what my goals are, I don’t think too much about the pressure that comes from outside. I try to keep learning, keep adding experiences and always try to give my best version in each game. I feel that I play for myself, for my team and my family, I don’t focus on the expectations that people may have. I just push it away.”

WATCH: Carlos Alcaraz speaks German in Hamburg
WATCH: Carlos Alcaraz speaks German in Hamburg

Asked about being top three by the end of the year, he said:

“It would be a good goal, but right now my thoughts are not on the ranking, but on reaching the ATP Finals in Turin at the end of the season. For me, the ranking isn’t the most important thing right now, although I’m fighting to continue winning games and winning tournaments, as that is what will lead me to continue climbing.”

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