Alcaraz on bullets: "We need to change something".

© AFP

Clément Gehl

le 05/02/2025 à 09h33

2 min to read

Alcaraz Rotterdam Van de Zandschulp

Carlos Alcaraz beat Botic van de Zandschulp not without difficulty on Tuesday evening in Rotterdam.

In the post-match press conference, he talked about his match and the balls.

He said: "I knew there would be difficult moments, because the first round of a new tournament is never easy.

I thought that Botic, with the crowd by his side, would raise his game to a very high level, I was sure of that.

I'm happy to have overcome this very difficult match and to have the chance to advance to the next round.

My first time in Rotterdam is special, so I'm very happy with what I've achieved today. It feels great.

Today I played against a Dutch player, so I knew that the public would support him and be with him most of the time.

I'm happy to have seen the Spaniards and to have received support too, I'm happy to have this experience and to receive the love of the fans, I hope to receive this support in the next rounds.

I did some good training to adapt, but it was difficult.

The new balls, everything seems to go very fast... and after two or three exchanges, the ball becomes very big and it's a bit difficult to play aggressively with them.

I think last year there were a lot of injuries, a lot of players with elbow or shoulder problems.

Something has to change. I know they will. Practically every week, we have different balls, different conditions, so it's difficult to adapt to them.

But we're here to give it our best shot.

So far, I haven't had any physical problems because of the cold, I'm working every day to get fit, and so far I'm doing well."