Behind the Scenes with Axel Alvarez

Q: What is your normal routine on matchday?
“We wake up early and eat breakfast. Then we go for a run for about 15 minutes just to wake up and be ready. We get ready and go to the courts to warm up for about 20 to 30 minutes. If you have an injury, you get taped up with the trainer. We practice doubles for about 10 to 20 minutes and then we start the match.”

Q: What is your warm up routine?
“It is pretty simple. I hit from the baseline for 10 to 15 minutes, do volleys and some overheads, then I hit some warm up serves for another five minutes. Then we go into the doubles drill.”

Q: You go through several shirts in a match. Why is that?
“Usually I sweat a lot, but here we have almost 100 percent humidity so I have to bring eight or 10 shirts to every match because they get so sweaty. They get heavy and it makes me more tired if I don't change them. It just bothers me when I am playing. It's like I am 10 or 15 pounds heavier. It's not really, but you can feel it. When you put on the dry shirt it is such a relief.”

Q: Do you snack during the match?
“I am really bad about that. I am not too organized. The coaches have helped me a lot. With the humidity here and how hot it is I need to get some snacks during the change over and drink. In the first match I didn't and I noticed it. I got tired really quickly. In the second match I changed my routine and I had a snack at every change over. I think it helped me a lot.”

Q: How do you stay hydrated for a match?
“It is not just while I am playing. The day before I try to drink every hour a bottle of water just to be hydrated for the next day. During the match, I have superstitions with that, I like to drink a sip of water, then a sip of Gatorade and then another sip of water, then I am ready to play.”

Q: How do you like your racquet?
“I always string it to the same tension. 54 lbs. That's the tension that I like so I always keep it the same.”

Q: Why do you carry extra shoes in your bag?
“When there is a lot of humidity and the match gets long I sweat so much that sometimes my shoes get soaked. I have to change them because of that so I always have an extra pair of shoes in my bag just in case. This is crazy but I was sweating through the shoes so they would get wet and I would be sliding. I didn't have any grip on the shoes.”

Q: Why did you start wearing a headband in doubles?
“Jose (Salazar) and I started wearing them about three or four matches ago when we started playing together. I didn't want to play with it. I don't play with it for singles. Jose told me that we were going to play with it to win and we started playing and we won so now I have to wear it. I hate it but I have to wear it.”

Q: Do you have anything else in your bag you always carry?
“I have my headphones. I like to listen to music before I play the match. I listen to rap mostly. After we have breakfast and we get in the van I put the headphones in. I don't like to talk to anyone. I like to be in my own world.”

Q: You play with and earing, why is that?
“I just like it. I didn't used to wear it, but I remember when I was here in the United States for the first time, Willy (Guillermo Alcorta) and Dane (Webb) had them and I had to get one. When I lived at home my parents wouldn't let me do it. So when I was living by myself I had to do it, just for fun.”

Q: What does your necklace mean to you?
“This is really cool. My mom gave it to my dad when I was born. It says the day I was born and the time I was born and my name on the back. So I have been wearing it for about seven or eight years. I never take it off.”

Players Mentioned

Guillermo Alcorta

Sponsors

University of Oklahoma Athletics