Carlos Alcaraz on playing in front of Roger Federer: “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time” | ATP Tour

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Alcaraz on playing in front of Federer: “I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time”

The Swiss is present at the Laver Cup in Berlin

September 21, 2024

Roger Federer has seen a lot of things in his career, but on Friday at the Laver Cup he witnessed something he had never seen before.

Federer watched Carlos Alcaraz, a four-time Grand Slam champion and No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings, play in person for the first time.

They had already met during the run-up to the tournament, however, speaking on several occasions, posing together in a photo session and having a pleasant conversation on the training courts this Friday before the Spaniard’s match.

But it was in Berlin where the 103-time ATP Tour champion had the chance to see the Spaniard in person. He did so on Friday in the doubles match, where Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev faced Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton. The Americans took the victory to earn a point for the World Team.

Alcaraz praised the opportunity to play against Federer for the first time: “It was really great, honestly, to play in front of him. It’s the first time he’s seen one of my matches live and I’m really happy that he was there watching our doubles match.”

“I think I’m good [en el dobles]“I’m very happy with my performance, but not as good as in singles, I guess. I hope to see him tomorrow in singles. I hope he enjoyed the doubles match and obviously it was great to see him in training. He didn’t give me any advice or tactics, he just told me that he’s very happy to see me in real life, that I’m here. It was a great moment for me. I’ve been looking forward to this moment for a long time,” added the Spaniard.