Not everything is money for Carlos Alcaraz

The Municipality is already wallpapered. And in the photo from the ATP promotion in Buenos Aires are the British Cameron Norrie, Diego Schwartzman, the Austrian Dominic Thiem, the Italian Lorenzo Musetti and in the centre, in front of the shape of the Obelisk, none other than Carlos Alcaraz, the number 1 world.

The visit impossible (until Thursday 5 January) of the Spaniard began to materialize once he learned of his injury on Friday 6. Almost a week later, Albert Molina, his manager, dialed the number of his old friend Martín Jaite on his mobile phone and told him about the change of plans and his interest in playing for Buenos Aires. The tournament director asked him for 24 hours to respond. Of course, for Alcaraz to come, extra money (guarantee) was needed to go along with his wishes to play in the brick dust of Buenos Aires for the first time. The day after the communication was much shorter: Molina accepted the number which is kept under four keys and for Jaite, his team and Tennium, the company that owns the ATP, everything changed.

“When Spain and Italy received their 2023 Davis Cup wild cards at the end of November, I was excited about Alcaraz again. Because I thought, ‘If he loses in the first week in Australia, maybe we can have him…’ Then, with the injury, everything got easier,” Jaite confessed to Clarín.

It is clear that Alcaraz will not come to Argentina just for the money offered. Not even for the possibility of adding points for the classification. Buenos Aires has an alluring combination of offerings – history of the tournament, very pleasant climate, ideal location in Palermo, first-class attention for the players, packed stadiums in the early evening – and the Murciano wanted to get to know them. So without turning around.