Carlos Alcaraz’s younger brother, Jaime Alcaraz, won his opening match at the Madrid Open U-16 tournament, 6-3, 6-3.
Making a surprise appearance in Madrid, Alcaraz watched his brother play on the outside courts.
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Before the match, Alcaraz spoke to former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli.
Carlos Alcaraz told Marion Bartoli he was ready to ‘suffer’ watching his younger brother play
During Sky Sports’ Madrid Open coverage, Bartoli shared what Alcaraz told her before his younger brother took to the court.
“I talked briefly with him, I asked him a question, ‘Are you nervous when you’re watching?’,” said Bartoli.
“He said ‘It’s a lot more nerve-racking when you’re watching than playing, so I’m going to sit here and suffer!’
“That’s exactly the words he used, ‘I’m going to suffer’.
“But great to see him showing up, and Jaime [Alcaraz] actually won his match, 6-3, 6-3.”
Former doubles star Colin Fleming weighed in on the attention Alcaraz’s younger brother receives.
“It’s just a different dynamic, isn’t it. I would think it would be quite tricky for his opponent today as well, having Carlos Alcaraz sitting, supporting the guy you’re playing against, it’s just different,” he said.
“I’m thinking of golf, where you have Tiger Woods’ son, Charlie, sort of plays and gets incredible [publicity], maybe even more than Jaime at the moment. It just changes things quite a lot.
“I think we just need to be a little careful around these young people, let them play as well.”
“Once we had Nico Godsick, Tony Godsick’s son playing Wimbledon juniors, and all of a sudden Roger [Federer] showed up on the outside court, and the opponent just froze on the spot!” added Bartoli.
“It’s always interesting when you have someone in the circle or a part of the family who is so successful; it’s not easy to be the siblings, but at the same time, he can give you so much advice.
“There is no one who knows better than Carlos Alcaraz himself.”
Jaime Alcaraz can learn a lot from his older brother as he looks to follow in the world number two’s footsteps.
Unfortunately for the 14-year-old, his Madrid Open U-16 campaign ended on Friday, as he lost in straight sets, 5-7, 3-6.
Carlos Alcaraz’s rivals impress at the Madrid Open
Alcaraz has been sidelined with an injury and won’t play any more matches on clay this year.
That’s good news for his closest rivals, Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev.
Sinner and Zverev have made the most of Alcaraz’s absence, reaching the latter stages of the Madrid Open.
Jannik Sinner at the Madrid Open
- 2R [WIN] vs Benjamin Bonzi, 6-7, 6-1, 6-4
- 3R [WIN] vs Elmer Moller, 6-2, 6-3
- 4R [WIN] vs Cameron Norrie, 6-2, 7-5
- QF [WIN] vs Rafael Jodar, 6-2, 7-6
- SF [WIN] vs Arthur Fils, 6-2, 6-4
- F vs Alexander Zverev/Alexander Blockx
Alexander Zverev at the Madrid Open
- 2R [WIN] vs Mariano Navone, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
- 3R [WIN] vs Terence Atmane, 6-3, 7-6
- 4R [WIN] vs Jakub Mensik, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3
- QF [WIN] vs Flavio Cobolli, 6-1, 6-4
- SF vs Alexander Blockx
Zverev will play Alexander Blockx in the semi-finals, with a place in the final against Sinner up for grabs.
Making deep runs in Madrid, Sinner has strengthened his position as world number one, while Zverev has begun to close the gap to Alcaraz.
Live ATP Rankings
| Rank | Name | Country | Points |
| 1 | Jannik Sinner | Italy | 14,000 |
| 2 | Carlos Alcaraz | Spain | 12,960 |
| 3 | Alexander Zverev | Germany | 5,555 |
| 4 | Novak Djokovic | Serbia | 4,700 |
| 5 | Felix Auger-Aliassime | Canada | 4,050 |
Assuming Alcaraz returns for the grass-court season as expected, he will do so as the world number two.
How large the gaps between Sinner and Zverev will be remains to be seen…
