Carlos Alcaraz got to spend a lot of time with his idol, Roger Federer, recently, and he explained what the two talked about.
Growing up, Alcaraz had multiple idols. Obviously, one of his heroes was Rafael Nadal. As a fellow Spaniard, Alcaraz followed the 22-time Grand Slam winner's journey. But he also had his own idol.
In an interview that became popular after the four-time major winner's breakthrough, Alcaraz was seen saying that his idol was Roger Federer, a player he would never get to compete against on the ATP Tour.
Luckily for him, he still had a chance to hit with his idol. That happened at the 2024 Shanghai Masters, where Federer was in attendance as a spectator.
For the young Spaniard, it was a great experience to play with his idol, and he recently talked about it in an interview with Spanish publication MARCA ahead of the 2024 ATP Finals.
The 21-year-old revealed that the Swiss Maestro didn't get to see any of his matches in Shanghai, but since Alcaraz stayed in the city for a longer time, the two got to meet, with the youngster eager to ask the legend many questions.
"The truth is that it was a real pleasure for me to have Roger watching my matches at the Laver Cup. Obviously, he was going to be there. In Shanghai, he couldn't be at my matches."
"But then I stayed a few more days in the city, and I had the chance to play with him, to talk to him, to ask him things about his career, how it went, what he's done... My career has just started and I tried to ask him things that would be useful for the future."
The two were seen in attendance of the 2024 Shanghai Masters final together. While watching Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner compete, Federer and Alcaraz talked a lot, and since then, the World No. 3 player received multiple questions about what they talked about.
He didn't want to share the exact details, but now he admitted that they event talked about his loss to Djokovic in the Paris Olympics final, a loss that was one of the most painful in the Spaniard's career.
"Then we watched the Masters 1000 final together and we talked a bit about everything: the match, the final with Djokovic at the Games, things he would have done... And also about life situations."
The two also practiced together in Shanghai, and Alcaraz talked about Federer's level. The four-time Grand Slam champion explained that considering how long Federer has been away from the court, it looked like he never left.
"It was a great moment for me and I hope he comes to see me play more often. When I played with Federer in Shanghai it seemed like he had never retired."
"The timing is there. Roger will always have that quality. He played so easily with me. He told me that it was the first time he had played with that intensity since he retired."
"He had played tennis, but not with that intensity. He hit the ball so easily, so naturally, with such elegance. It seemed as if he had never retired. Obviously, when the point was extended, he was like he was, but the feeling I had was that he never retired."