How Carlos Alcaraz spent the day preparing for his fourth-round clash at Roland Garros

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How Alcaraz spent the day preparing for his R4 clash at Roland Garros

Defending champion faces Shelton on Sunday in Paris

Adam Pretty/Getty Images Carlos Alcaraz owns a 21-3 record at Roland Garros. By ATPTour.com/es Staff

After his round-three match at Roland Garros, Carlos Alcaraz went to sleep at around 3:00 am. When he had finally finished his media duties in the tournament’s mixed zone, he returned to his hotel in Paris, had some dinner, and underwent some routine recovery treatment with his physio.

As a result, the Spaniard and his team took the decision not to practise on Saturday, choosing instead to rest up before his fourth-round clash with Ben Shelton.

The No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings woke up late and spent some of his morning in the hotel gym with his physio, Juanjo Moreno, and fitness coach, Alberto Lledo, recovering from over three hours of wear and tear at the hands of Damir Dzumhur, whom he eventually saw off in four sets.

Later, Alcaraz took the opportunity to see some of Paris with his loved ones, something he often does on his days off between matches. The 22-year-old has seen several areas of the city over the last few years: the Palace of Versailles, Jardin du Luxembourg, and Parc Monceau, where he was last Thursday. On Saturday, Alcaraz visited the area of Pont Alexandre III, one of the city’s most emblematic spots.

Alcaraz’s city strolls have enabled him to soak in some valuable ‘Vitamin N’ which, through the power of nature and invigorating the senses in natural surroundings, has therapeutic and wellbeing benefits. It is a favourite concept of Moreno, his physio, and the four-time major winner tries his best to adhere to it.

In the evening, Alcaraz has an unmissable appointment in his calendar: the Champions League final between Paris Saint Germain and Inter Milan in Munich. The Spaniard, who has said several times that he would like PSG to win, will have spotted some of the team’s players at his matches this week: Achraf Hakimi, Nuno Mendes, Joao Neves and Desire Doue. He was also alongside Ousmane Dembele at the tournament’s official draw ceremony.

On Sunday, defending champion Alcaraz will square off against Shelton for a place in the Roland Garros quarter-finals, he currently leads their Lexus ATP Head2Head series 2-0.

“He’s a very aggressive player,” Alcaraz said of Shelton. “He puts a lot of energy into his shots and into his matches. I think it’ll be interesting. When we’ve crossed paths we’ve played good tennis. He’s getting better and better on clay.

“We’ll try to improve on the things I did worse today [Friday] and to continue doing the things I’m doing well. We’ll try not to let him take control of the match, and we’ll try to play our own tennis.”

Alcaraz owns a 21-3 record at Roland Garros, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. He memorably defeated Alexander Zverev in a five-set final last year to claim his maiden trophy at the clay-court major.

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