When a player achieves success, there are several members working hard behind the scenes. Take the example of Carlos Alcaraz, who has his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero; his brother and sometimes hitting partner, Alvaro; and his barber, Victor, all in his corner. And of course, Juanjo Moreno, his physio.

The Spaniard had a nasty fall during the first-round match at the China Open. In the process, he sprained his ankle and was in visible pain. As a result, Alcaraz was in major doubt for the remainder of the tournament. Yesterday, Alcaraz even skipped his practice session, further raising eyebrows about his fitness. However, Moreno worked hard behind the scenes, and Alcaraz couldn’t wait to thank him.

Earlier today, the Spaniard returned to the court and had a comfortable straight-set win over Zizou Bergs in the second round of the China Open. Alcaraz was able feature today as  Moreno, worked his magic to heal his sprained ankle in record time, and the World Number 1 paid tribute to Moreno after the match.

Alcaraz said, “Well, it was tough day and a half, had to recover as best as possible. I said it before and I’ll say it again: I have the best physiotherapist in the world, in whom I trust one hundred percent. The work he has done on the ankle has been excellent.”

While Alcaraz paid through pain in his first-round match, the treatment received from his physiotherapist made sure that he could focus on his match completely instead of thinking about his ankle. Further, Alcaraz also opened up about how his ankle felt during the match, saying, “I could play, I would say normally, which is great. I was just sometimes worried about the ankle, but in general I played great tennis, a great match, a good performance for my side. Even though, you know, I was thinking about the ankle a little bit, but all around just really happy with my performance.”

Even as Alcaraz left his fans in awe with his performance today, he gave them another reason to cheer. He announced an exciting team-up with Emma Raducanu later this year.

Carlos Alcaraz confirms his dream partnership with Emma Raducanu

The duo was last seen together at the US Open, where they lost in the first-round match against Jack Draper and Jessica Pegula. However, they enthralled their fans with their partnership, and the fans can’t wait to see them pair up again. The duo will play an exhibition event in Miami later in December, and Alcaraz had some interesting things to say about the event.

He revealed, “I love playing in Miami—the fans always bring incredible energy. I’m thrilled to take the court for this first-ever event at loanDepot park, with João, Amanda, and Emma.” Similarly, Raducanu also joined in by acknowledging her excitement of playing alongside Alcaraz, saying, “This event will be electric, and I’m excited to bring my best to Miami alongside three incredible stars of the game.”

Nonetheless, Alcaraz’s prime focus now will be retaining his World Number 1 crown this year. For this, he has to perform consistently in the upcoming tournaments while remaining in good physical shape.