Tennis players are renowned for their rituals before, during and after matches when they play tournaments.
Perhaps the most well known is that of Rafael Nadal who lines up his water bottles and constantly clear the baseline after each point when playing on the clay. Other examples include Bjorn Borg who would grow what he called a ‘luck beard’ in time for Wimbledon and Andre Agassi wrote in his novel Open that he didn’t wear underwear throughout the 1999 French Open after forgetting to put some on during his first round win. Agassi went on to win the title.
It seems that these rituals continue with the younger players to some degree with Carlos Alcaraz outlining what he usually does before matches – take a nap and play chess. The pre-match routine of the rising star is something some might not expect. However when it comes to the board game the Spaniard explains that it helps sharpen his mind before he heads to the court.
“Recovery was key and naps before games are for me. And chess helps me because you are focused, your head works,” Alcaraz explained during an interview with Marca.
“It helps me to be faster mentally, to observe plays, to see the movement you want to make, the strategy… To be focused all the time. In chess, like tennis, you get lost for a moment and the game is already mixed up. In this aspect they are two quite similar disciplines.” He added.
It is hard to fault the tactics of the Spaniard considering the success he has achieved at such a young age. Last month he became the youngest player in history to win an ATP 500 title at the Rio Open. At the age of 18 he has already won two Tour titles after also triumphing at the 2021 Umag Open and reached the US Open quarter-finals.
Currently ranked 19th in the world, Alcaraz believes he is on the right trajectory to reach the top of the game one day. Incredibly he cracked the top 20 at a younger age than all members of the Big Three. In fact, the last player to achieve the milestone at a younger age than the Spaniard was Andrei Medvedev back in 1993.
“This tells me that I am on the right path, the path that my whole team guide me on. We are all going in the same direction and these types of records tell me that I should continue like this and not deviate,” he said.
Perhaps the best measure of the level Alcaraz is currently playing at is when he takes on the greats of the game. Last year he played Rafael Nadal for the first time in his career at the Madrid Open where he won just three games. He also lost in straight sets to Daniil Medvedev at Wimbledon but is yet to play Novak Djokovic.
“I want to face Djokovic and play Rafa again . I am more mature and I manage my emotions better if I watch the match I played with Nadal in Madrid. If I play against him, it will be different. They may beat me up, but I think it will be different,” Alcaraz explains.
Alcaraz will return to action at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells where he is the 18th seed. So far this season he has achieved a win-loss record of 8-1.
