Carlos Alcaraz penned a touching tribute to Jose Manuel Madrona, who works at the Ferrero Tennis Academy, after he suffered a near-fateful motorcycle accident.
The 20-year-old defeated France's Gregoire Barrere 6-2, 7-5 to advance into the round of 32 in Shanghai. After the match, Alcaraz dedicated his win by signing off on the camera lens, 'Madrona, this victory is for you,' as the direct translation in English.
Madrona has been an academy coach at the JC Ferrero Tennis Academy and has known Alcaraz personally, with the World No. 2 frequenting the premises when he returns to Spain. Alcaraz is also a product of the academy, having been trained and nurtured by his longtime coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, since the age of 15.
Alcaraz is now an established and experienced name in the sport, but he hasn't forgotten his roots or the people who have played an integral role in honing his skills from a young age. And Madrona appears to be one of those, after he survived a tragic motorcycle accident two weeks ago, in which he fought for his life. Thankfully he managed to recover, but he lost his leg in the accident.
"Yeah, I mean, he's a friend of Juan Carlos, a really important person that's been through not a good time right now. He's struggling a lot at home. So this victory is just for him, you know, to try to help him to push him a little bit. Just for him. He told me that if I remember him to put him in the camera."
Alcaraz is currently in the final weeks of his 2023 campaign before he returns to the academy in early December to start his preseason. The two-time Grand Slam winner is in the ascendancy in the ATP year-end No. 1 race.
He trails Novak Djokovic by a mere 545 points after his second-round win. Alcaraz can surpass the Serbian by winning the title in Shanghai and taking control of the year-end No. 1 ranking. Recently, he stated that Djokovic had been on his mind at every practice session.
But that has only spurred him to meticulously work towards dethroning him at the top. Carlos Alcaraz will be in action on Monday when he confronts British one-hander Daniel Evans in the third round.
0 Comments