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Spanish tennis star Carlos Alcaraz hilariously claimed that his feelings had been hurt after an April Fool's Day prank in which he was made to believe that he hit a tennis ball over a house roof that landed exactly inside the target.
Babolat, a French tennis, badminton, and padel equipment company, played the prank on him with team members jumping for joy claiming that Alcaraz had hit the target in a ball-hitting challenge. The Spaniard had to land the ball inside a basket placed across a house to win the challenge.
Carlos Alcaraz initially believed the team's version. But sensing that it could be a prank as it was April Fool's Day, he insisted that he would watch the video to confirm whether he actually hit the target.
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"No way, no way. I have to see the video," Alcaraz said on hearing the team erupt in happiness.
The Babolat team accepted his request and played the video of the Spaniard hitting the tennis ball. The video revealed that he missed the target.
"You have hurt my feelings. You all guys," Alcaraz joked when he was shown the actual video in which it was clear that he missed his target.
Earlier, a Babolat team member invited Carlos Alcaraz for a 'little challenge'. The Spaniard accepted the challenge and started hitting balls across a house roof. A team member was telling him where exactly his balls were going.
In the first three attempts, the Spaniard missed the target with the Babolat team member stating where exactly the ball had gone. But the team made him believe that he had hit the target in the fourth attempt.
"It was so obvious," Alcaraz said (in Spanish). "April Fools?" a Babolat team member asked. "But it was close. At least that's something," the Spaniard replied with a smile.
Carlos Alcaraz to start clay court campaign at Monte Carlo Masters
Carlos Alcaraz would kickstart his clay court campaign at the Monte Carlo Masters, which begins on April 8. He will compete at the tournament only for the second time in his career. His only appearance at the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) 1000 event came in 2022 when he lost in three sets to Sebastian Korda.
Alcaraz withdrew from the tournament in 2023 due to physical discomfort. He, however, did well in the clay court season last year winning titles in Barcelona and Madrid.
The Spaniard successfully defended his title at the Indian Wells Masters by beating Daniil Medvedev of Russia in straight sets in the finals. The win ended a title drought for Alcaraz that stretched back to his famous triumph at Wimbledon in 2023.
He became the first man to defend his title at Indian Wells since Novak Djokovic who won three consecutive trophies at the tournament between 2014 and 2016.
