Carlos Alcaraz exclusive: “It was a dream” – Spaniard inspired after surprising “masterclass” from Roger Federer

Carlos Alcaraz admitted it was a “dream” to beat tennis great Roger Federer earlier this month.

The Spaniard enjoyed some light training with the 20-time major champion in Shanghai and, speaking to Eurosport ahead of the Paris Masters, gushed his praise for the Swiss legend.

“It was an incredible experience for me,” said Alcaraz with a broad smile. “Having the chance to play with him was great. I just enjoyed every shot so much, watching him play the shots so easily. It was a dream. It was a great experience.”

“I had the opportunity to talk to him a lot and ask him some questions about his playing time. It was honestly a masterclass from him.”

Alcaraz is now looking forward to playing in front of a Paris crowd again after having an incredible year winning the French Open and an Olympic silver medal.

The Spaniard begins his season at the Paris Masters on Tuesday having never reached the quarter-finals of the competition.

But with a successful year playing in the French capital and success with Federer, Alcaraz feels “additional motivation” this time.

“It’s great to be back here in Paris,” said Alcaraz. “I honestly thought a lot about my time at Roland-Garros, my time at the Olympics.

“I’m just happy to show my level again in front of the Paris crowd and hope they enjoy the game. It’s great and it’s an extra motivation to come to this tournament.”

When asked what Paris memory from 2024 he thinks about most, the 21-year-old said that his first Roland Garros triumph trumped his Olympic final with Novak Djokovic.

“Roland-Garros, I bit the trophy and held the trophy with all my people. Obviously the Olympics was an incredible achievement for me to win the silver medal, but I lost the final. That’s why I remember Roland-Garros the most.”

Alcaraz’s best performance at the Paris Masters came two years ago in the 2022 edition, when he reached the quarterfinals.

This was followed by a poor performance in 2023, where he lost in the second round to Roman Safiullin.

Alcaraz believes his game is well suited to the Bercy Arena but says he needs to get used to the pitch.

“Well, I don’t have too much experience on the court, but my game fits here pretty well because I play so aggressively,” he said. “I’ve never trained here before, I haven’t played too many tournaments here before, so I’ll have to get used to it.”

“The calendar is also so demanding, so I was probably really tired coming into the last tournament of the year.

“Hopefully this doesn’t happen again. I’m fresh, excited and have a lot of self-confidence. I think it will be different.”

“I understand a little bit how to play in these last few tournaments, so I think I’ll do a little better.”