Carlos Alcaraz has expressed his unwavering support for fellow Grand Slam champion Emma Raducanu, following her withdrawal from the mixed doubles event at Wimbledon.
The 21-year-old, who is aiming for his fourth major title, acknowledged the difficulty of Raducanu's decision to pull out of a mixed doubles match with Andy Murray on Saturday. The former US Open winner withdrew just hours before citing "stiffness in her wrist" but was able to compete the next day as she exited the singles tournament in the fourth round, losing to Lulu Sun.
Raducanu's SW19 retraction, which meant Murray was denied a final bow on Court One, sparked a social media storm, with his mother, Judy, tweeting her surprise at the decision. However, she later clarified that her reaction was intended as sarcasm.
Despite the public scrutiny, Alcaraz has emerged as a staunch ally for Raducanu. The young tennis star praised the Briton's achievements and recognised the challenging situation she found herself in.
"It’s a difficult situation," the Spanish tennis sensation confessed. "She said she was going to play mixed doubles with Andy in the last Wimbledon of his career. But obviously she's young. I’m sure she didn’t want to pull out of the mixed doubles. She had her reasons to do it, I guess physical problems.
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"I don’t know, she’s facing the fourth round of a Grand Slam at Wimbledon, I think it’s special for her playing in England. I’m sure a lot of players in her position would have done the same thing as her. Obviously, knowing it’s his last Wimbledon is difficult to deal with."
The reigning Wimbledon titleholder is optimistic that his fourth-round victory over Frenchman, Ugo Humbert, at the prestigious grass-court tournament could be a harbinger of good fortune for Spain's upcoming Euro 2024 semi-final clash on Tuesday.
The world number three Spaniard faced a stern challenge from Humbert, who managed to break Alcaraz's serve on five occasions.
However, the resilient 20-year-old regrouped and secured a quarter-final berth, which will coincide with Spain's crucial encounter against France in Munich, with a spot in Sunday's final at stake.
With the football match scheduled to kick off at 8pm on Tuesday, Alcaraz is hopeful that the All England Club organisers will schedule his last-eight tie earlier in the day, allowing him to potentially catch a glimpse of the national team's performance.
"Hopefully they're going to get the same results as me today," Alcaraz said with a smile, alluding to the possibility of a Spanish double triumph. "I didn't think about it until now, but I won in the tennis part, so hopefully the Spanish team is going to win the football part."
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Alcaraz, who has a close relationship with several members of the Spanish squad is confident that the footballers are supporting him during his Wimbledon campaign.
"I have a really good relationship with a few players of the team," he continued. “Particularly with Alvaro Morata. He’s a really good friend.
“I know they are supporting me when I’m playing matches or I’m playing tournaments. It’s my turn.
“Hopefully on Tuesday we are not going to play at the same time, but let’s see. Hopefully I will be able to see a little bit from the match.”
