Sometimes it’s easy to lose track of things when you’re as busy as Carlos Alcaraz.
The tennis star seemed not to be aware of which match he should be keeping an eye on for his next opponent while he was appearing on ESPN after defeating American Tommy Paul in order to advance to the quarterfinals.
The Spaniard was asked by Andy Roddick to talk about his potential opponents at the time, either Stefanos Tsitsipas or Ben Shelton.
After a second of confusion, Alcaraz realized what happened.
“Oh my god, I thought I was playing [Daniil] Medvedev-[Frances] Tiafoe,” he said shocked. “Thank you man.”
The whole situation created a good laugh among the panel on the ESPN set, situated just outside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
He did try to discuss the two tennis players, but Roddick’s laughter made it quite difficult to continue with the conversation.
Finally, he was asked, “you’re going to watch the match tonight?”
“For sure I’m going to watch it,” he said while the laughter continued.
Shelton went on to win in straight sets over Tsitsipas to punch his ticket to the quarterfinals and a date with Alcaraz.
By the time he spoke with reporters, it seemed that Alcaraz had everything sorted out and had discussed the idea of playing his next opponent.
“If it is Shelton, really powerful player,” he said. “I think he use the crowd, the people behind him, especially when he’s playing here at home. I’m excited about playing the quarterfinal, either if it is against one or other. So I’ve got to be ready. I’m going to watch it, and I’ll be ready for that.”
Alcaraz is looking to repeat as U.S. Open champion after he defeated Jannik Sinner in the last year’s finals.
If he does repeat, he would be the first men’s player to do so in just under two decades.
