{"id":288516,"date":"2023-09-03T23:04:11","date_gmt":"2023-09-03T23:04:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/?p=288516"},"modified":"2023-09-03T23:04:11","modified_gmt":"2023-09-03T23:04:11","slug":"dan-evans-cracks-cheeky-carlos-alcaraz-joke-ahead-of-exciting-us-open-clash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/tennis\/dan-evans-cracks-cheeky-carlos-alcaraz-joke-ahead-of-exciting-us-open-clash\/","title":{"rendered":"Dan Evans cracks cheeky Carlos Alcaraz joke ahead of exciting US Open clash"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
Dan Evans will be thinking that Carlos Alcaraz\u00a0is human and \u201cdoes exactly the same as what all of us do in the morning\u201d when he takes on the world No 1 at the US Open on Saturday. The British No 2 knows the defending champion is not perfect after playing golf with the Spaniard during Wimbledon.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis strength as a golfer was his coach,\u201d Evans laughed. Getting a result off the Wimbledon winner in New York will be a much bigger shock at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. But Evans beat Novak Djokovic on clay when the Serbian superstar \u00a0was top of the world rankings at Monte Carlo in 2021.<\/p>\n
And the world No 28 will take the same aggressive attitude into facing the 20-year-old super kid – the youngest male top seed at the US Open. \u201cWhen I play on the tour, I don\u2019t think about what ranking people are,\u201d said Evans.<\/p>\n
\u201cI genuinely don\u2019t. They\u2019re normal people. To put it frankly they do exactly the same as what all of us do in the morning when they get out of bed. They\u2019re very good at the sport but they still get nervous, they deal with it better than us. That\u2019s what\u2019s helped me when I\u2019ve played better players.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlcaraz is an unbelievable player but what\u2019s the point of me going out there and thinking he\u2019s the No 1 in the world, you\u2019ve no right to beat him. What is important is realising they\u2019re very good at what they do, but they\u2019re still human, they are still nervous, they just deal with it a bit better on occasions.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t be thinking when I\u2019m out there: \u2018He\u2019s No.1 \u00a0in the world, I can\u2019t win this match\u2019. I have to go out and hope I can put my game on the court and get myself into a good position. He will obviously be the overwhelming favourite.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s a good opportunity to play a very good tennis player on a big stage. That is why you play tennis. I am really looking forward to it and will play aggressively. There’s been a few upsets on that court before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alcaraz has won their two tennis matches in straight sets, including in the semi-finals at Barcelona in April. But the last time the two played was on the fairways of Royal Wimbledon when Alcaraz and his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero asked to join Evans and Jonny O\u2019Mara.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe played eight holes and they played well,\u201d said four-handicapper Evans. \u201cFerrero is better. He has spent his retirement wisely that is for sure. We definitely can\u2019t half on Saturday night like we did then so we will see.<\/p>\n
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cHis strength as a golfer was his coach – he talked him through the match pretty much. Just like on the tennis court. Carlos hits it a long way. He hits his long irons pretty good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alcaraz laughed. \u201cOf course, his golf is much better than mine, that’s for sure. But we could play a little bit before Wimbledon. We had such a great time at the course.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Aston Villa shirts have been spotted in the stands here in support of Evans, Alcaraz is a Real Madrid supporter – and already a big fan of Jude Bellingham.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe’s such a great, talented player, one of the best in the world,\u201d said the Spaniard. \u201cI’m sure that he’s going to be the best player in the world in that position. I’m just really, really happy to have him in the team. I talk a little bit with him. He’s such a great person, as well. He’s a complete guy.\u201d<\/p>\n