Carlos Alcaraz was a bundle of emotions when Spain was playing against Argentina in the soccer World Cup final on Sunday (July 19). Watching from the stands of New York Jersey Stadium, Alcaraz and Spanish supporters reached cloud nine when Ferran Torres scored a goal in extra time.
Alcaraz jumped in joy when the final whistle was blown. Spain was crowned as champions for the second time in the FIFA World Cup, dashing Lionel Messi and his team’s dream of back-to-back victories. The 23-year-old, in fact, had no idea that he had dropped his phone while he was fist-pumping.
At one point during the match, Alcaraz’s reaction turned from ecstasy to complete shock when he realized that Nico Williams‘ goal was disallowed due to a foul as Mikel Merino had stepped on Nicolas Otamendi‘s foot. The meme-worthy reaction did not take much time to go viral.
Watch the video here:
https://twitter.com/i/status/2078986028333842445
Alcaraz, who presented the trophy along with actress Jung Ho-yeon before the match. Later, he joined the celebrations and met Torres as well as Lamine Yamal.
Alcaraz, who withdrew from the Canadian Open, is also set to make his return to tennis at the Cincinnati Masters, where last year he received the walkover from defending champion Jannik Sinner in the final. The Spaniard hasn’t yet played since the Barcelona Open, where he picked up a wrist injury which ruled him out of the French Open as well as Wimbledon.
Alexander Zverev won in Paris with a five-set win over Flavio Cobolli. At Wimbledon, Sinner defended his title by overcoming a set deficit to beat Zverev. Sascha’s run to the Wimbledon final saw the seven-time Grand Slam champion drop to the third spot in the rankings table.
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Richard Krajicek on Carlos Alcaraz’s return
Even though Carlos Alcaraz has put his name on the entry list for the Cincinnati Masters, he was seen wearing a bandage during the soccer World Cup final. This has sparked doubt about his highly anticipated return. But Richard Krajicek is not worried about the injury.
Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/Carlos Alcaraz 4K)
There hasn’t been too much information. They’re much tougher injuries, these wrist or elbow injuries. I had an elbow injury myself. It’s really difficult to reset when you start playing again [after this type injury]. So, you hit a little bit… You need to go step by step. So yeah, it takes a bit of time, but he’s young, and I think he’s got good healing power.
Richard Krajicek told Tennis365
Alcaraz has already played three finals this year. After winning the Australian Open and becoming the youngest man to complete the Career Grand Slam, he clinched the Qatar Open by defeating Arthur Fils. But later in Monte Carlo, he couldn’t defend his title, losing the final to Jannik Sinner.
I’m not concerned that he will play, and I’m not concerned that he’s going to return to his full form. But it’s a question of when. Is it gonna be for the hard courts [in North America]? Is it gonna be for indoors? But still, I think it’s going to be this year.
Richard Krajicek added
The Cincinnati Masters starts on August 13. After Cincinnati, the focus of the tennis world will shift toward the US Open, where Alcaraz is the reigning champion.
Last year in the New York final, Alcaraz defeated Sinner in four sets to stop him from defending the title. It was also Alcaraz’s second title in the tournament after the 2022 season (won his first Major). Sinner, the winner of the first five Masters 1000s of the season, will complete the Golden Masters if he clinches the titles in Montreal, Cincinnati, Shanghai, and Paris.
