Carlos Alcaraz

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Przynajmniej punkty sprzed roku obronione.

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Inside Look: How Carlos Alcaraz Recovered From His 4+ Hour Marathon

Spoiler:

Spaniard's physio details recovery process after second-round epic
Game, set and match. Once those words have been uttered, a long, painstaking process begins — one which is far less visible than the forehands, the serves and the volleys. Looking after the body of a player has become an essential role on the ATP Tour, so much so that dotting the i's and crossing the t's can have a significant effect on the outcome of a match. On Carlos Alcaraz's team, this job falls to physio and fitness coach Juanjo Moreno.

On Wednesday the 19-year-old Murcia native needed four hours and 34 minutes to seal his passage to the third round of Roland Garros, coming through a demanding physical and mental battle against fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Having saved a match point, Alcaraz eventually won 6-1, 6-7(7), 5-7, 7-6(2), 6-4.

But what happens between the teen's return to the locker room and his next appearance on Court Philippe Chatrier Friday night against Sebastian Korda? Before taking a deep dive into the question for ATPTour.com, Moreno notes a key point. "The most important thing is maintaining the routines we have established, more than the duration or intensity of a match," he explained. "It's important to do what is necessary in the moment and not get bogged down in celebrations or anything else that might distract the player."

Juanjo Moreno
Physio Juanjo Moreno (green shirt) among the celebrations in Miami after Alcaraz wins his first ATP Masters 1000 title.

The first step is the exercise bike. No sooner than the match was over, the Spaniard made his way to the gym with his fitness coach and physio. "I always put him on the bike to compensate for Newton's third law, which explains that any body applying a force on another leads to an equal force in the opposite direction — and that means that every force Carlos applies on court has an equal and opposite response on his body," he explains. "That is, his joints, ligaments, tendons and muscles have to absorb the force efficiently."

He achieves this through cyclic movement, where there is no impact. "We use the bike for active recovery," Moreno says. "The body returns to calm, cooling down, while the circulatory system returns to its base. We deactivate the pressor reflex, which is activated during exercise in competition, and the hormone levels normalise."

It is then that Alcaraz starts a process that Moreno calls the three R's: Rehydrate, Refuel and Rebuild the muscle. "We try and have him drink quite a large quantity of water to replace what was lost, because it's one of the best sources of recovery," he says of his player's rehydration.

"Then, we turn our attention to the muscular glycogen deposits, which have emptied during physical activity", he says of the refuelling. "It's important to replace them early, because it ensures quicker recovery and, therefore, muscle repair."

The muscular damage caused during the match is combatted with a shake. "We're using 3:1 Recovery [drink]… which has a 3:1 ratio of carbohydrates — to refill the glycogen deposits — to proteins. But it also has amino acids in those proteins that help us recover the damaged muscle tissue."

Finally, Moreno talks about another facet to consider: the immune system. "It is altered or affected by physical exercise and you have to try and regenerate its values. To do so we use natural anti-inflammatory fats that help us care for this system."

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At tournaments such as Roland Garros, there is another step to the process: hot/cold contrast baths. "With them we achieve vasodilation and vasoconstriction — an increase in the diameter of the blood vessels — which we use for a type of drainage for any swelling that may have occurred. This hot-cold treatment also allows us to improve the autonomic nervous system, look after the immune system and, finally, relax the muscle tone."

Several hours have passed since Alcaraz shook hands on Court Simonne-Mathieu. He is still yet to eat dinner.

"We focus on healthy fats and the replenishment of proteins, because we have already restored the deposits with the shake," reveals the World No. 6's fitness coach.

After ingesting food, physiotherapy comes into play. "We pay more attention to any niggles that may have come up during the match and, also, we activate the recovery systems I spoke about before," Moreno continues. "One of the most important phases still remains: restorative sleep.

"A good sleep, if we've taken the correct preceding steps, will be able to prepare Carlos' body for the next day in the best conditions possible."

On the rest day, the physio also plays a vital role. "On Thursday, based on what he told me after the match, we did exercises focused on recovering all these areas and at the last minute of the afternoon we fine-tuned his body so that he's in the best condition possible on Friday," Moreno concluded.

Everything is now in place for Alcaraz to compete against Korda. All he has to do is wait for the clock on Court Philippe Chatrier to read 20:45.

Editor’s Note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/alcaraz ... arros-2022

[Damian]

Food Court: Alcaraz On Learning To Cook & A Fondness For Kebabs

Spoiler:

#NextGenATP star talks about the importance of nutrition to his career
At the age of 19, Carlos Alcaraz has already won two ATP Masters 1000 titles and is one of the leading favourites at Roland Garros this fortnight.

Possessing an impressive physique that has powered his meteoric rise, the Spaniard let ATPTour.com into a few of his dietary secrets, also discussing his room for improvement in the kitchen and the Murcian kebab scene.

Let’s say you have to cook tonight, either for yourself or friends. What do you cook and why?
Right now, I’d tell my friends to bring their own food in case my food isn’t any good (laughs). And I would make them, I don’t know... meat and potatoes. That’s it. I just don’t know how to cook much. But, actually, I’d like to cook them a good baked fish. Yes, that’s it, salt-baked seabass with roasted potatoes. That would be a good dinner.

Are you that bad in the kitchen?
I only know the basics. Pasta, tortillas... I’d like to know more things because I like cooking, but I still haven’t had the time to learn.

Is learning to cook something you want to do or a real goal for the future?
I’ll do it at some point, yes. But in Murcia I live with my parents, so I don’t cook. If I live on my own one day, yes, I’d like to learn to cook for myself and cook for people who come over. Also, to look after myself in that regard when I’m in Murcia.

Are you strict with your diet?
I don’t follow a diet as such, but I do try to look after myself. I’ve really learnt what’s good for my career, and what isn’t. But when I have to go on a bit of a diet, I do.

How have you learned to identify what is good for you to eat?
I don’t really have a nutritionist, but my physio, Juanjo Moreno, knows a lot. He is a really curious guy and he tries to study nutrition and gives me advice at tournaments. I’ve gradually learnt.

What is your diet like?
I eat a lot of fish, more than meat. I eat quite a lot of pasta, that’s good for athletes. And I’m lucky that I can eat a lot without putting on weight in terms of fat. It’s good for me to eat quite a lot, and that’s what I do. I also eat a lot of salad, a lot of rice... I love sushi! It’s so good.

READ MORE FOOD COURT FEATURES

Do you have any guilty pleasures?
I’m not really into desserts or sweets, but when I’m in Murcia I do occasionally like to get my hamburgers, my pizzas... I really love that.

Is there anything you can’t eat?
No. I eat what I want... I really try to look after myself, but if I see something I like, I’m really happy to have it. There are people who won’t eat a certain food, but not me. I’m happy to eat whatever they put in front of me.

Do people poke fun at you for eating so much?
I just like eating... my friends say to me ‘You really eat a lot, but you don’t get fat, do you?’ And I tell them ‘You don’t eat enough, eat more.’ They say ‘It’s easy for you to say as you don’t put on weight.’ That’s how it generally goes.

What do you eat the night before a match?
Sushi, I have that a lot.

You May Also Like: History-Maker: Alcaraz Continues Rewriting The History Books
What do you eat just before a match and how many hours beforehand do you eat it?
I have a plate of mixed gluten-free pasta. That is, pasta with and without gluten, with a cocoa cream called Ambrosía that has olive oil and dates in it. I normally eat all that, more or less, one and a half hours before a match.

And what do you eat during a match?
When it’s match time, I normally have a bar with dates, egg whites and, I think, guarana in it. And I normally have bananas, too. I’ve been eating that for a long time, like a year and a half, and I really do like it.

What can you eat during a week with no tournament that you can’t when you’re competing?
There aren’t many changes. The only thing that changes is supplements. In pre-season, for example, I have more, but that’s it.

If you go to one of your favourite restaurants, what do you order?
I really like pasta...I don’t have a favourite restaurant as such, but if I go to a good one and it has pasta, I normally order it.

What would people be surprised to learn that you like eating?
Kebabs. I eat them a lot when I’m in Murcia. But really, I’m very simple. I don’t think I’d surprise anyone with what I eat.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/alcaraz ... t-may-2022

[Damian]

Alcaraz Turns The Tables On Korda In Paris

Spoiler:

Spaniard to face Khachanov in fourth round

Revenge is a dish best served cold. Carlos Alcaraz did just that against Sebastian Korda on a chilly Friday night at Roland Garros.

The sixth-seeded Spaniard fell to Korda last month in Monte Carlo, his only clay-court loss this year, but it was Alcaraz’s night in Paris as he completed a convincing 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 win to reach the fourth round. In what was also a rematch of last year’s championship match at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, Alcaraz hammered 24 winners and broke Korda four times to advance in two hours and six minutes.

“It’s amazing to play in such a great atmosphere. I think the people enjoyed the match and I’m glad to play in front of such a good crowd,” said Alcaraz in his on-court interview. “In the early matches, I’m trying to have fun out there. I love playing tennis and playing on these courts, so I’m enjoying every second.”


It was a significantly shorter night than his second-round match on Wednesday with Albert Ramos-Vinolas. The 19-year-old saved a match point in the fourth set against his fellow Spaniard before forcing a deciding set and ultimately prevailing after four hours and 34 minutes.

A lengthy recovery process immediately following the match paid dividends against Korda. Showing no signs of his brutal battle two days earlier, Alcaraz scampered about the court and leaned into his powerful groundstrokes with full force.

"I would say that I'm aggressive all the time," said Alcaraz. "It doesn't matter if I'm losing, winning, tough moment, tough match, I keep my style the whole match."

You May Also Like: Inside Look: How Carlos Alcaraz Recovered From His 4+ Hour Marathon
Alcaraz secured the first break of the night just nine minutes into play, ripping a forehand winner for a 2-1 lead. While the American was pushed to the brink in most of his service games, Alcaraz continued holding comfortably and served out the set on his first attempt.

Korda had two chances to break Alcaraz at 2-1 in the second set, but succumbed to his opponent’s aggressive play on both. One game later, the sixth seed yelled in delight after hitting a forehand winner to break Korda. Showing that he’s still adding new tools to his game, Alcaraz served-and-volleyed three times while serving for the set at 5-4 and went on to take a commanding lead.

The Spaniard turned up the heat in the final stages of the match, reeling off five consecutive games and five straight baseline winners to wrap up play. Alcaraz didn’t face a break point throughout the night.



Awaiting Alcaraz in the next round is No. 21 seed Karen Khachanov, who took out No. 10 seed Cameron Norrie 6-2, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4. Khachanov let slip a 4-2 lead in the third set, but regrouped strongly to advance in three hours and 37 minutes.

Although the 26-year-old arrived to Paris with a 4-5 record on clay this season, his most consistent Grand Slam success has come at this event. Khachanov reached the quarter-finals in 2019 and the fourth round on three other occasions.

"I just practised with him once, but I've watch other matches from him, so I know that it's going to be a tough match," said Alcaraz. "But at the same time, he's a tough opponent and I like those matches."

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/alcaraz ... 022-friday

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RG22: pierwszy raz w IV rundzie paryskiego Szlema!

[6] Carlos Alcaraz d. [27] Sebastian Korda 6-4 6-4 6-2

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