At the end of the training session, four security guards, each about the width of a door, lead a corridor surrounding Carlos Alcaraz’s exit, which is being demanded by fans at Turin’s Inalpi Arena. Despite the crowd rushing towards him, the tennis player eventually arrived safely and got lost as he approached the access door to the locker room. A few meters away, a player with whom the Murcian has trained tells his story. It is the story of one of the many dreamers who hopes to one day become an elite athlete or make a living from the sport. Pedro Vives expressed his feelings even though he was drenched in sweat from the effort required to catch up to number one.
“Fortunately, I’m only two years older than Carlos, so we’ve known each other since our youth days. I’ve been coming here and playing since day one.” sparring For ATP, I had a chance to warm up and train with him. It’s a good thing for me because I’m here to help tennis players,” said the Mallorca-born 24-year-old, who shared the same place as number one in the junior youth team of the Rei Real Club de Tennis Barcelona 1899, scheduled for this Tuesday at 2pm with Taylor Fritz (Movistar+). He then went on to continue training at Rafael Nadal’s academy, after which he moved to Barcelona. Texas Christian University (TCU).
So, in an increasingly powerful path, he turned to the university system as a pipeline to the elite, and now holds the 463rd position in the university. Rankingenjoy the experience with our teachers. “After COVID-19, I went to the United States, but I’m done with that this year and I’m going to focus on playing professionally from now on and see how things go. I’ll definitely go where I need to go,” he says. He has played against Nadal many times in his homeland and now trades the ball with Alcaraz, but says that even as a child, “I could already see that he had something that other boys of his age didn’t have, that he was very advanced and had great potential.” They were measured only once. He laughed and replied, “He won…”
Now, after graduating from the Faculty of Economics, he returns to his home country and takes advantage of such opportunities, combining them with competitions on the ITF circuit (a prelude to professionalism). Having scored his first ATP points at the age of 16, he is hoping to establish himself, soaking up the best days and helping them grow. “They are two completely different boys. When Rafa trains, he only knows how to get up to a level of 100 or 200, both physically and mentally. Carlos, on the other hand, is very serious, so he takes more time. One has already done everything he has to do and is the best athlete in Spain’s history. I think the other one aims to reach as far as possible. I hope Carlos’ injury will help him,” Vives continued.
of via sparring This was also the one used by Alejandro García Cenzano of Madrid, responding from Austin (Texas) Airport. He explained that his last wish was to sit on the bench, so he is currently coaching Canada’s Marina Staksic, and previously spent several years contributing to the filming of players such as Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Garbiñe Muguruza and Paula Badosa. In his case, he first received an offer from the Madrid tournament, and the organizers and players liked his role. Since then, his phone started ringing and after making a name for himself in various situations, he signed individual contracts with several players.
“They ask for specifics,” he says. “It’s about recreating certain strikes your opponent makes during a match: a sliced backhand, a flatter shot, etc.,” he elaborates. Most of his income came from direct connections with tennis players, rather than from tournaments “because very few people were paying.” In particular, he remembers with special fondness the sessions that led Muguruza to the Masters title in 2021, rehearsing with up to 10 top athletes, including Ashleigh Barty, Victoria Azarencuza and Simona Halep. He also remembers the days he spent with Alcaraz at Indian Wells in 2022, and the days just before that in Cincinnati in 2018 with Nadal and Garbine. They both occupied the throne.
some sparring They eventually reach the specialist category and not only get nourishment from the professional game, but also absorb the knowledge of their coaches. García Cenzano mentions Conchita Martínez (Muguruza, Pliskova or Andreeva) and Wim Fissette (Clijsters, Osaka or Swiatek), and now it is he who passes on his knowledge. Players like Veronica Sepede, Tamara Zydansek, Liv Hovde (Wimbledon junior champion) and Olga Danilovic follow her standards. “In my case, it was a halfway point because I wanted to become a WTA coach, but definitely, the journey was worth it,” the Madrid native concluded.
This was confirmed in a meeting with Vives, who was called up by Alcaraz this week to warm up ahead of the opening day match against Alex de Mignar and the second group stage match against América Fritz. The Murcian player stands out for his “looseness and ease” and has the ability to “generate power when he hits, even if it doesn’t look like he’s putting much effort into it.” He commented that Nadal and Alcaraz are fundamentally different. The first is, from his point of view, “the best Spanish athlete” he has ever seen. And he cautiously refrained from venturing into how far his former colleague on the slopes at RCTB will go, saying: “I hope his injury is respected and then we’ll see.”
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