Carlos Alcaraz lifted his sixth Grand Slam trophy at the US Open over the weekend, defeating his biggest rival, Jannik Sinner, in the final. The world No. 1 went on an incredible run in Flushing Meadows, only dropping one set and getting broken three times throughout the entire tournament.
But on his days off, he was focusing on another sport, golf. Alcaraz had 2017 Masters winner Sergio Garcia in the stands for his last few matches, and they even challenged one another to a £150 ($200) golf tournament just days before the men’s singles final in New York.
After winning his quarter-final match against Jiri Lehecka, Alcaraz told the crowd that he would “100 per cent” be getting on the golf course during his two days off before the semi-finals.
Asked what he’d need to have a shot at beating Garcia, the 22-year-old joked: “I mean, he has to give me between 10 to 15 shots. I’m not that good, Sergio, come on.”
After his next match, Alcaraz was asked for an update on how their game went, and told the US Open crowd: “He owes me $200 right now!”
And that wasn’t the Spanish superstar’s only big win last week. He went on to beat Sinner 6-2 3-6 6-1 6-4 in Sunday’s final to claim his second US Open title.
Garcia was back inside Arthur Ashe Stadium to witness Alcaraz lift his sixth Major trophy. And he later explained exactly how their golf tournament went down.
They were joined by Spanish golfer David Puig and Juan Carlos Ferrero, Alcaraz’s coach, who is a former world No. 1 and Grand Slam champion, at the private Deepdale Golf Club on Long Island.
“David and Carlitos played against Juan Carlos and me. We gave Ferrero (handicap 1.4) 9 points and Carlos (11.4) 18,” Garcia told Marca.
“We played $100 for the front nine, $100 for the back nine, and $200 overall. But since we tied on the front nine, we put everything in the final pot.
“Overall, it was very good, some good shots and others worse. The truth is, we were all a bit rusty. David hadn’t touched a club for a week and a half; I had played one round during that time. But there were several birdies.
“On the 18th, in the end, they beat us and I had to pay Carlos, but since I only had $200 on me, I told him, ‘I’ll give it to you later’. After the semi-final match, I went and paid him. ‘Here, so you don’t go around saying I owe you money’.”
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