Surprise! Alcaraz learns during ESPN interview he was wrong about his next US Open opponent
Next up for Carlos Alcaraz at the U.S. Open is ... not who he thought it was. Alcaraz was surprised to learn during an interview on ESPN after his victory Sunday that his quarterfinal match would be against either Ben Shelton or Stefanos Tsitsipas. The defending champion visited the set after beating Tommy Paul in his fourth-round match.
Carlos Alcaraz was taken aback during an ESPN interview following his U.S. Open quarterfinal victory to learn that his next opponent could be either Ben Shelton or Stefanos Tsitsipas. The surprise came after Andy Roddick, the 2003 U.S. Open champion, questioned Alcaraz about the challenges posed by each player. Alcaraz, momentarily confused, asked Roddick to repeat his question.
"You re either going to play Shelton or Tsitsipas," Roddick responded, urging Alcaraz to discuss both potential opponents and their respective challenges. Alcaraz, however, turned his attention to the paper in front of Roddick, exclaiming, "Really? Oh my God, I thought I was playing Medvedev-Tiafoe." He then laughed along with Roddick as they both realized Alcaraz's mistaken belief.
Frances Tiafoe had already defeated Daniil Medvedev in their match, leaving Alcaraz to face Alex Michelsen instead. While many tennis players acknowledge the difficulty of focusing on their upcoming matches, it's unusual for one not to be aware of their next opponent as deep into a tournament as Alcaraz was.
Written by urgent.news from Yahoo Sports's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
