Carlos Alcaraz receives the King Felipe award | ATP Tour

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Alcaraz receives the King Felipe award

April 04, 2024

Carlos Alcaraz, after receiving the award from King Felipe VI.
By ATPTour.com/es Staff

This Thursday was a very special day for Carlos Alcaraz. The No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings received the King Felipe Award, which recognizes him as the best Spanish athlete of the year 2022. In addition, it was King Felipe VI himself who presented Alcaraz with the distinction at the Royal Palace of El Pardo.

“We are surrounded by great athletes in Spain in all areas. Three or four years ago I did not expect to have this award. For me it is a source of pride, something very nice,” said the Spaniard about the award.

Alcaraz won the award for his spectacular 2022, a year in which he won his first Grand Slam at the US Open, in addition to becoming the youngest world No. 1 in history. That season, the Murcian celebrated 5 titles in total, including his first ATP Masters 1000 in Miami and Madrid, and finished with a record of 57 wins by 13 losses.

Tomorrow, Alcaraz will head to Monaco to begin the European clay court tour in Monte Carlo. The Spaniard has only played the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters once (2022), losing in his debut against Sebastian Korda.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” said the Spaniard. “These last two tournaments have been very good, both on a tennis and emotional level. It was a shame to lose to Dimitrov [en Miami]but I left happy with how I felt on the track. I’m ready to have a good gravel tour.”

On Monday, Sinner displaced Alcaraz at No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings, leaving the ranking headed by Novak Djokovic, the Italian and Alcaraz.

“Djokovic and Sinner play well on any surface. I don’t feel like a favorite at all, despite the good results I’ve had on the clay court tour. They come in a very good state of form, perhaps Djokovic a little less, but in the end we are talking about Novak and at any time he can reach 100%. “I don’t feel like a favorite at all.”

Finally, Alcaraz wanted to assess the rivalry he maintains with the Italian. Right now, the Lexus ATP Head2Head shows absolute equality (4-4), but those numbers will surely change in the coming months.

“We all know about the rivalry that Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have had. I hope I can have that nice rivalry with Jannik. May he pressure me to give my 100% and we can both improve,” the Spaniard concluded.