Former ATP player Mardy Fish has reacted to Carlos Alcaraz’s comments after the Spaniard hesitated to name his favorite WTA player in an on-court interview after his fourth-round win at the Australian Open.
The Spaniard sailed past Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 to book his maiden quarterfinal spot at the Melbourne Major. In an on-court interview after the win, former player and interviewer Jim Courier asked him who his favorite players were to watch in his spare time.
The World No. 2 replied that he enjoyed watching Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, and Jannik Sinner. Not letting Alcaraz get away with easy answers, Courier continued:
“I’m going to put you on the spot there, what about WTA?” Courier said as per a clip posted by The Tennis Letter on X (formerly Twitter).
“I watch the WTA as well,” replied Alcaraz eliciting laughter and cheers from the crowd.
“When I turn the TV on [Smiling] If it’s WTA, ATP, I like to watch,” Alcaraz continued with the crowd laughing harder.
Former American player Mardy Fish reposted the clip and wrote on X (formerly Twitter):
“My man has gotta be dating someone on WTA Tour…??”
https://x.com/TheTennisLetter/status/1749379397264764975?s=20
User @internwatts replied to Fish’s tweet and wrote:
“Def early stages cuz if he said her name then everyone would know and if he didn’t say her name she would be pissed lol”
Fish took note of the comment and replied:
“Yup. Get to the bottom of it.”
Carlos Alcaraz will next face Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.
Carlos Alcaraz to lock horns with Alexander Zverev in quarterfinals of Australian Open
Carlos Alcaraz will face sixth seed Alexander Zverev in his quarterfinal debut at the Australian Open on Wednesday, January 24.
Alcaraz opened his campaign with a victory over Richard Gasquet in the first round. He dropped a lone set against Lorenzo Sonego in the second round, before blitzing past Shang Juncheng and Miomir Kecmanovic in the third and fourth rounds, respectively. Zverev will be the first seeded player that the Spaniard will face in the Australian Open 2024.
Meanwhile, Zverev has arguably had a tougher journey to the quarterfinals, powering through two five-set battles. After overcoming Dominik Koepfer in the first round, he earned a 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(7) victory against Lukas Klein in the second round. He next defeated Alex Michelson in the third round.
The German will come into the match against Alcaraz on the back of a hard-fought 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(3) win against 19th seed Cameron Norrie in the fourth round. The head-to-head between Alcaraz and Zverev stands at 4-3 in the latter’s favor.
