Carlos Alcaraz knew exactly what he was doing when he arrived to his first Miami Open press conference wearing a Brazilian football shirt earlier this week.
After all, as soon as the draw for the tournament was made, many pointed to the collision course he was on with Joao Fonseca in the third round. That match-up has now been realised.
Interestingly, whether it was due to his outfit or not, the Spaniard was asked about tennis in South America during that conversation with the media.
With talks about the marketability and allure of this leg of the tour, and further discussions suggesting a change in surface could help boost both of those profiles, Carlos Alcaraz has now given his opinion.
Carlos Alcaraz praises the South American swing of the tennis tour
“It’s a beautiful swing, although it’s very tough if I’m honest,” he insisted. However, that was through no fault of their own, but rather the schedule which forces them into such a small, strangely-selected window that encourages players to jump from Australia to South America before heading over to America.
It’s not feasible for many, and unsurprisingly contributes to the lack of intrigue from some of the top players.
Alcaraz admitted as much, but added: “It’s beautiful. The people get really involved in tennis; the fans there are incredible. I received loads of support, which I loved. We’ll see if they keep playing it because it’s a swing that personally I’d love to experience again.”
What do you think is Carlos Alcaraz’s best surface and why?
He then touched on the talks to change the surface to perhaps encourage more of these elite names to make the trip, but Alcaraz seemed unconvinced: “It’s going through a tricky moment, I’ve heard lots of players, especially the South Americans, saying that they mustn’t change it or change the surface. Personally, when I went there, I loved it.
“To the players who haven’t been, I’d say that at least once in their career they’ve got to experience that because, to be honest, it’s one of the most brilliant ones I’ve had when it comes to swings.”
This comes after Stefanos Tsitispas explained why he had never played in South America, in comments that were not received well by some of his fellow competitors.
Joao Fonseca speaks about the Rio Open changing surface
Fonseca’s calls for the Rio Open to make a major change to the event should highlight the severity of this situation for South American tennis.
He and they seemingly think they need to do whatever they can to attract stars to their events.
The Brazilian, speaking about his home event, admitted: “I see that the Rio Open really has something special: they treat the players differently, they care.
“I’ve talked to many players, and many like it; they’d like to visit Brazil, but it’s tough, right? Because the tour right now is dominated by fast courts.
“I think that, going forward, if the tournament has the chance to switch surfaces, it would be very beneficial.
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“Overall, the Rio Open has potential, both in organisation and in the team that works here, to become an even bigger tournament in the future. But I believe the surface change is essential for growth.”
It’s a damning indication of the state of tennis in South America that even Fonseca feels such a fundamental change is necessary.
