In Toronto, the best tennis player in the world, Carlos Alcaraz, was finally able to meet the one who had long been his idol and “beloved”: Maria Sharapova.
The 20-year-old was at Academy United training when he faced the ones who have dominated his sport since the mid-2000s. Five-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova retired in 2020.
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The Instagram account of the tennis academy of Juan Carlos Ferrero, a former player and current coach of Alcaraz, published the photo. However, the original caption was misleading as the Spaniard and Russian were described as “two ex-number 1s”. Alcaraz is still the best player in the world after cementing his place at Wimbledon at the expense of Novak Djokovic.
“I was shocked because I didn’t expect her to be here in Toronto,” he said at a news conference on Wednesday. She was the first in the elevator and I was like, “Is that Maria?” You see what I mean?”
“I had a crush on her since I started playing tennis,” Alcaraz said. I was excited to see her in person. She was very charming and congratulated me on winning the Wimbledon tournament.
Early Successes
Alcaraz and Sharapova are not only number 1 in their sport, but they also have in common that they won a Grand Slam before they turned 21. Rafael Nadal’s worthy successor already has two.
“Carlos is great. “What fascinates me most about him is his willingness to fight on every point,” Sharapova, who was also happy about meeting the Spaniard, told the “Gazzetta dello Sport”. He manages to put on a show and turn the audience on every time he steps onto the field. I can’t wait to see his progress. I’m very excited to see what he can do.
On Thursday evening in Toronto, Alcaraz was supposed to play his round of 16 duel against Hubert Hurkacz from Poland.