Rising star reveals what ‘amazed’ him the most when he met compatriot Carlos Alcaraz for the first time
The tennis ace became the youngest Spanish Challenger champion since Carlos Alcaraz who was 18 when he lifted the title.
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Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X)
Spain’s Martin Landaluce is an alternate for the Next-Gen ATP Finals which is currently underway in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He has trained with compatriot Carlos Alcaraz who has already established himself as one of the best players.
He met the 21-year-old at the 2022 Madrid Open where they practiced together. Landaluce thinks Alcaraz’s being a ‘normal’ person is the reason why he has achieved success at such a young age.
I have a really good relationship with Carlos. We’ve been in contact for years and have the same manager. When I first met him, I was amazed by how down-to-earth he was. It was at the Masters 1000 in Madrid and everyone wanted to take photos with him, but he was just so relaxed. It really struck me how normal he was.
Martin Landaluce told ATP Tour
At the 2022 Madrid Open, Alcaraz advanced to the final and defeated Alexander Zverev in straight sets. En route to the final, he had also defeated Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals and Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.
Martin Landaluce idolizes Rafael Nadal and has practiced with him
Tennis has always been a part of Martin Landaluce’s life and his father Alejandro Landaluce still competes on the ITF Seniors Tour. At the age of 14, he practiced for the first time with his idol Rafael Nadal at the Rafa Nadal Academy in 2020.
I grew up watching Rafa, and we’d talk about him at home, discussing his matches at the dinner table. When I was eight or nine, I was glued to the TV, watching his every match. Then, at 14, I hit with him for the first time. It was unbelievable, stepping on court with someone I had idolized for years. It was incredibly inspiring.
Martin Landaluce told ATP Tour
The King of Clay, after suffering fitness problems for years, hung up his racket at the Davis Cup after losing to Botic van de Zandschulp in the first match of the quarterfinal tie against the Netherlands. Landaluce on the other hand last played at the Rovereto Challenger where he reached the semifinals but lost to Luca Nardi.
He is currently a World No. 151 and registered his first ATP Tour win this year at the Miami Open where he defeated compatriot Jaume Munar before losing to Ben Shelton. After reaching several semifinals in Challenger events, he finally won a title in October this year in Olbia, Italy.
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Gouri Das
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