Alcaraz, Gauff visit Forbidden City ahead of Beijing

Carlos Alcaraz will hope to back up his Laver Cup heroics this week when he competes at the China Open in Beijing. However, before the serious business commences on court, the No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings took time to explore the Chinese capital with WTA star Coco Gauff.

The Spaniard and American were all smiles when they visited the Forbidden City dressed in traditional clothing on Wednesday.

“It was a great experience being there," Alcaraz said in his pre-tournament press-conference. "I couldn't go around much last year. For me, it's great to see the culture here in China, see different things. Being there [in the Forbidden City] was a great experience for me. I'm really happy to be back here again in Beijing.”

? Dynamic Duo alert in Beijing ? @CocoGauff and @carlosalcaraz went out to explore to Forbidden City today ??@ChinaOpen | #ChinaOpen | @WTA pic.twitter.com/kzCvMFFyKs

On court, Alcaraz hopes his performances at the Laver Cup can help him in his quest for further glory during the Asian swing. The 21-year-old, who earned victories against Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz to help guide Team Europe to victory against Team World in Berlin, is the second seed at the ATP 500 event in Beijing.

“We all went to the Laver Cup just to try to win, help Team Europe as much as we could to bring the trophy back,” Alcaraz said. “The past two years, Team World dominated the Laver Cup. For me, it was a great achievement help Team Europe to bring the cup back to Europe.

“It was a great tournament, a great experience for me living side by side with the players that I'm used to fighting against each other during the whole year. Having that energy from them while I'm playing was an incredible experience for me. I played great, great matches there in the Laver Cup, what helped me a lot to have more confidence coming here to this tournament.

“It is great for my confidence and for my level just to come here with extra energy knowing that I'm ready to do a good result here, even knowing that I have a really tough draw.”

Alcaraz has won 15 tour-level titles in his standout career but struggled to find his best level in the closing stages of the season in 2022 and 2023. The Spaniard competed in just three events after winning the US Open in 2022, missing the Nitto ATP Finals due to injury. Last year, he held a 7-5 record from October to November, with his best result semi-final showings at the Nitto ATP Finals and in Beijing.

Having already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals this year, Alcaraz will hope improve on his end-of-season record, starting in Beijing, where he plays big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first-round. He is seeded to face Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals and will take a 5-2 Lexus ATP Head2Head series lead into that clash if they do meet.

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