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Tennis player turned commentator Daniela Hantuchova recently accused the 2023 Madrid Open organizers of favoring Carlos Alcaraz ahead of the final.
Carlos took on Jan-Lennard Struff for the Madrid Open title on Sunday. He successfully defended his title, beating Stuff 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. The Spaniard has now won both home tournaments - Barcelona Open and Madrid Open - two years in a row.
The win marks Alcaraz's 4th ATP Masters 1000 title and 10th title overall. He has also now won four titles in 2023.
Hantuchova, who was commentating during the match, noted that the ground staff watered the court twice before the start. She claimed that they were trying to make the court as slow as possible, thus helping Alcaraz to return his opponent’s serve.
Hantuchova also stated that watering the court twice was unusual, and that it was the first time she had seen it happen.
“One thing, guys, I do want to point out, the groundspeople have watered the court twice since we’ve been talking,” Hantuchova said during the pre-match talk on Prime. “So I feel they’re trying to make the court as slow as possible, so it’s easier for Carlos to return that serve.”
"But that doesn’t happen," she added. "That was the first time this week that I noticed that he’s already covered at least this side twice with the water."
Upon being asked what she thought of this, Hantuchova responded that it was expected that a home player would receive special treatment.
“Especially on clay, that’s what we were kind of always expecting when you play a Spanish player here or in Italy when you play someone from Italy,” she said.
The victory on Sunday put Alcaraz ahead in his head-to-head with Struff at 2-1. The Spaniard is also now 22-0 on Spanish clay.
Carlos Alcaraz names himself among the top 2023 Roland Garros favorites
Carlos Alcaraz has pegged himself as one of the favorites to win this year’s Roland Garros. The World No. 2 has had a fantastic 2023 season, with a win-loss record of 29-2.
Alcaraz said he puts himself at the top of the list of favorites unless 14-time champion Rafael Nadal got fit in time. He also included one-time finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas and two-time champion Novak Djokovic on the list.
“There are Tsitsipas, Djokovic... If Rafa goes, it will always be his tournament. And I put myself at the top of the list,” Alcaraz said, as per Marca.
After successfully defending his Madrid Masters title, the World No. 2 will head to Rome for the 2023 Italian Open. Given his current form, Alcaraz is the oddsmakers' favorite to lift his maiden title in Rome.
This will be his debut appearance at the tournament, and the 20-year-old needs just one victory to climb back up to No. 1 in the ATP rankings.
