Carlos Alcaraz lands in Barcelona ahead of title defense, set to begin clay swing

Carlos Alcaraz recently arrived in Barcelona to defend his title and begin his clay swing campaign.

The Spaniard won the third Masters 1000 title of his career at Indian Wells in March 2023. However, things took an unwanted turn when he was unable to defend his Miami Open title and thus lost his World No. 1 ranking to Djokovic. The 19-year-old has also pulled out of the ongoing Monte-Carlo Masters.

Nevertheless, it appears to be good news for his fans, as he recently shared photos of himself practicing on the clay courts of Barcelona, preparing for his title defense at the ATP 500 tournament. The Spaniard hit the practice courts with his colleague Denis Shapovalov.

"Happy to be back in Barcelona! First training at the Godó!" Carlos Alcaraz wrote. (Translated from Spanish)

Last year, Alcaraz easily defeated Pablo Carreno Busta to win the Barcelona Open, his third title of a remarkable 2022 season. He beat his countryman in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.

The title victory propelled him into the top 10 of the world rankings at the same age, on the same day, and in the same tournament as compatriot and 22-time Grand Slam winner, Rafael Nadal did in 2005.

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Carlos Alcaraz will have a hard time taking over the mantle from Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, feels Boris Becker

Carlos Alcaraz pictured at the 2023 Miami Open - Day 8.

Boris Becker recently stated on CloudFest 2023 that Carlos Alcaraz will have a difficult time taking over the mantle from the big-3. The German legend believes that the big-3 stars are not only tennis heroes but also sporting and cultural icons.

"First of all, it’s a very difficult mantle to take over. Federer, Nadal and Djokovic weren’t only tennis heroes, they are sporting heroes. They are cultural icons," Becker said.

The German great then stated that while Alcaraz is a great tennis player with a complete package, he must do much more than just play the sport.

"You talk about the young Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz as the next hot thing. He’s amazing, he plays great, he looks good and has the full package as a tennis superstar. But there’s a lot more to it than playing tennis," Becker stated.

"You have to come back, you have to defend your titles, you become a representative of your country and you’re getting into boxes you didn’t think existed before. We have to be careful. Nobody is perfect and we have to watch that these tennis players are people. And people make mistakes," he added.