Detailing his daily pre-season routine, he added: “I used to practise the whole morning – start at 09:00 and finish at 14:00 or even 15:00. The whole morning is about working out physically and on the court.
“After that, I took almost every afternoon off to do whatever I want – stay with family or friends, play board games, chilling at home.
“It’s a better way to recharge the batteries, staying at home with the people you love.”
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam at which Alcaraz is yet to reach the final, with the quarter-finals in 2024 and 2025 his best showings, but he advanced to round two in comfortable fashion against Walton.
Playing in his first Grand Slam match since splitting from long-time coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, Alcaraz had to wait until the eighth game of the opening set to convert a break point and also had his serve broken in the second, but immediately bounced back with a break of his own and proved too strong in the key moments, pulling away in the second set tie-break to win it 7-2.
However, his 38 winners were almost matched by his 36 unforced errors and he only converted four of his 10 break points – statistics he will be eager to improve on in his second-round meeting with Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann.
“It was difficult to find the good spot [against Walton],” added Alcaraz. “He was one step forward than me. He was always in a good position, long rallies and solid from the baseline. His flat ball was sometimes really difficult for me.
“It was a really solid match and when he was able to step in on the court and play aggressive, he did and that made it really difficult in the match.”
