Carlos Alcaraz competed at the Argentina Open this past week, where he was eliminated in the semifinal stage, but it wasn't all doom and gloom for him.
The Spaniard, who is ranked World No. 2 in the ATP rankings, regards time spent on the court as a precious asset. So, in order to play at a low-key ATP event, such as the Argentina Open (classified in the ATP 250 category), it requires some temptation.
It's no secret that top players command high amounts of appearance fees to headline tournaments like the one held in Buenos Aires. Players like Alcaraz are considered influential figures in the sport and have built a clean reputation as crowd favorites.
So when the announcement of his presence at the Argentina Open was announced, it had a direct effect on increased ticket sales. The 20-year-old is a crowd magnet, and because of his charisma and star power, the tournament organizers in Buenos Aires reportedly forked out a whopping $900,000.
It's not a surprise that this is the figure quoted by Argentina's publication La Nacion of the appearance fee that Alcaraz received for playing in this year's tournament. With two Grand Slams to his name and four Masters, the appeal of the Murcia native was evident.
Last year, the Vienna Open tournament director Herwig Straka revealed that he tried to bring Alcaraz to play at the ATP 500 event but was put off by the amount the Spaniard requested (reported as 750,000€).
Having deemed the deal as "too expensive," Straka preferred to invest that money in improving the state of the courts.
Alcaraz's campaign in Buenos Aires ended in the semifinal stage, losing to Nicolas Jarry. He received an additional $33,520 in the form of prize money. The two-time Grand Slam champion then made his way to Rio de Janeiro, but he was forced to retire already after two games in his opening match.
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