“Carlos Alcaraz turns impossible into possible, water into wine, air into gold” – Andy Murray’s ex-coach confers new ‘Alchemist’ nickname on Spaniard
Andy Murray’s former coach Mark Petchey recently gave the nickname “The Alchemist” to Carlos Alcaraz after his heroics contributed to Team Europe winning the 2024 Laver Cup. In what was the seventh edition of the Laver Cup, and Team Europe thwarted Team World’s bid for a third consecutive title. Alcaraz kicked off his campaign at the Laver Cup by teaming up with Alexander Zverev for a doubles match against Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton on Day 1, but lost 7-6(5), 6-4. On Day 2, the Spaniard faced off against Ben Shelton in a singles match and won 6–4, 6–4.The final day saw Carlos Alcaraz join forces with Casper Ruud to overcome Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe with a score of 6-2, 7-6(6) to win a point for Team Europe. The last match of the day, a singles match, was crucial for both the teams as a win in that meant winning the title.
In the end, Carlos Alcaraz defeated Taylor Fritz 6–2, 7–5 to clinch both the match and the 2024 Laver Cup title.During a recent episode of the Tennis Channel Inside-In podcast, Mark Petchey discussed Carlos Alcaraz’s pivotal role in the Laver Cup and how his exceptional performance propelled Team Europe to victory.Petchey explained that he dubbed Alcaraz “The Alchemist” because of his ability to transform the “impossible into the possible,” turning “water into wine,” and “air into gold.”
“I’ve decided to call him The Alchemist. Alcaraz, he just turns you know, the impossible into possible, he turns water into wine, he turns air into gold. You name it, the guy can transform a tennis match into either a spectacle that we can just watch his greatness and do the things he does that a very few players can or turn an event like that [the 2024 Laver Cup] absolutely on its head,” Petchey said [6:25].
