Carlos Alcaraz had a defiant message for those who \u201cdidn\u2019t believe\u201d in him and who thought he would \u201cnot even make it past the quarter-finals\u201d at the 2026 Australian Open after his triumph in Melbourne.<\/p>\n
The Spanish superstar prevailed 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 against the legendary Novak Djokovic, who is currently ranked fourth, in an Australian Open<\/a> title match that lasted three hours and five minutes.<\/p>\n By securing his first-ever Australian Open crown, Alcaraz \u2014 who is 22 \u2014 became the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam in the Open Era.<\/p>\n In an interview with Eurosport Spain, Alcaraz<\/a> was asked about tennis analysts and fans who doubted his Australian Open chances after his split with former coach Juan Carlos Ferrero in December.<\/p>\n The world No 1 did not hold back as he called out those who thought he would fail to perform in Melbourne.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be honest, I\u2019m remembering all the people who said I wouldn\u2019t make it, who thought I\u2019d come here to Australia and not even make it past the quarter-finals. That I\u2019d come here to Australia and not play any good tennis. Those who didn\u2019t believe in me. I remember those people, honestly,\u201d asserted Alcaraz.<\/p>\n \u201cIt seems ironic that when I\u2019m supposed to be thinking about my people, my team, all the work we\u2019ve put in\u2026 in the end, that\u2019s the thought that came to me now.<\/p>\n Carlos Alcaraz\u2019s Australian Open win proved Ferrero split was \u2018right decision\u2019 \u2013 former world No 1<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n The youngest Australian Open men\u2019s champions: Where does Alcaraz rank as he joins Djokovic & Sinner?<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for tennis coverage you can trust.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cAnd I didn\u2019t come here to tell anyone I\u2019m capable, but simply with a lot of enthusiasm, eager to prove to myself that I can overcome problems, that I\u2019m mentally strong, that I came here with the hope of having done a good job, and that\u2019s what I should take away from it.<\/p>\n \u201cBut if you ask me, that\u2019s the first thing that came to mind.\u201d<\/p>\n The seven-time Grand Slam champion also spoke about winning the final in the presence of his idol and compatriot Rafael Nadal, who was watching from the front row in Rod Laver Arena.<\/p>\n \u201cWith Rafa there watching from the stands, it\u2019s a wonderful moment, a very special moment for me to be able to see Rafa come,\u201d Alcaraz said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhatever his reason for coming \u2014 we knew he had things to do here \u2014 the fact that he showed up and was here for the final means so much to me. It makes this moment even more beautiful and special.<\/p>\n \u201cBut not only Rafa, but all the people who have been getting up at 3 in the morning during these weeks, who have been there, on the front lines, from a distance, cheering and giving their all, and I truly thank from the bottom of my heart all those people who, from home, those who have come here, but also those who have stayed there, all the support and encouragement that allowed me to achieve this victory.<\/p>\n READ NEXT: Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic\u2019s Australian Open prize money & ranking points revealed<\/a> The post Carlos Alcaraz sends strong message to \u2018those who didn\u2019t believe in me\u2019 after Australian Open win<\/a> appeared first on Tennis365<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Carlos Alcaraz had a defiant message for those who \u201cdidn\u2019t believe\u201d in him and who thought he would \u201cnot even make it past the quarter-finals\u201d at the 2026 Australian Open after his triumph in Melbourne. The Spanish superstar prevailed 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 against the legendary Novak Djokovic, who is currently ranked fourth, in an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1695\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Australian Open News<\/h2>\n
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