(Reuters) – World number two Carlos Alcaraz said playing as part of a team at the Davis Cup and Laver Cup had left him feeling refreshed and ready to go in the Asia swing, where he is looking to add the Shanghai Masters title to his victory at the China Open.
Alcaraz, who won this year’s French Open and Wimbledon and took home a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, was not firing on all cylinders during the North American swing, losing in the second round at Cincinnati and the U.S. Open.
Since his loss in Flushing Meadows, Alcaraz has helped Spain seal their spot in the Davis Cup’s quarter-finals and inspired Team Europe to victory in the Laver Cup, before beating rival Jannik Sinner to win the China Open.
“I had a really good month of practice after the American swing. The Davis Cup and the Laver Cup helped me a lot to get the energy back, to get motivated again,” Alcaraz told reporters on Thursday.
“I love playing teams competition, the Davis Cup with the players, with their team, with the Spanish federation as well, all the people who are around just to help me to be better, and feeling great off the court as well, that is really important.
“The Laver Cup, same thing. Those competitions helped me a lot to get the joy back on the court, and being focused on what’s next. I came here to Asia with a lot of energy, enjoying every single second that I step on the court, and that for me it’s really important.”
Alcaraz took three hours, 21 minutes to beat Sinner 6-7(6) 6-4 7-6(3) in the final in Beijing on Wednesday and faced a tight turnaround to compete in his first match in Shanghai on Friday, where he takes on Shang Juncheng.
“The tennis schedule is so tight, but we have to get used to it, or I guess we have to. Yesterday we finished 8:30, 9:00, a three-hour match, and then I had no time to do anything else,” Alcaraz said.
“I went to the club before the final with all the bags, because I knew that we had to run after the final to take the flight to come here.
“We arrive at 4:00 a.m., just to be ready or just to have some sleep here in Shanghai, and woke up to get used to the conditions here and try to be ready for my first match.”
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Nashik, India; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
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