Carlos Alcaraz lifts lid on first Roger Federer meeting as Spaniard awaiting 'apology'

Carlos Alcaraz has opened up on his first meeting with Roger Federer as he prepares to reunite with the Swiss star at the Laver Cup.

The two multi-Grand Slam champions haven't met since a 16-year-old Alcaraz practised with Federer at Wimbledon in 2019 while he was still in the junior circuit.

Federer is already planning to "apologise" to the world No. 3 this week after sharing his own version of the story of their Wimbledon encounter.

Alcaraz had the experience of a lifetime for a junior player when he was invited to hit with Federer at Wimbledon five years ago when the former world No. 1 reached the final. His coach Juan Carlos Ferrero has a good relationship with Federer and set up the practice.

Since then, the Spaniard has gone on to make history. In 2022, he became the youngest ATP world No. 1 in history, aged 19. He now has four Grand Slam titles. But since their training session five years ago, Alcaraz and Federer's paths have never crossed.

That will change at the Laver Cup this week. Alcaraz is competing in the team event for the first time while Federer co-created the tournament and will be around.

Ahead of their reunion, the 21-year-old told Marca: "I was training today and Roger was in the gym, but I haven't seen him. I hope to see him in the next few days."

"I remember Wimbledon training as if it were yesterday. I will never forget the first time I met Federer, I have the photo in my room. It was a unique moment."

But for Federer, it was a slightly different story. Ahead of the Laver Cup, the 43-year-old admitted that he wanted to train with Ferrero instead of Alcaraz at the time, and he's now planning to apologise.

"I barely know Carlos Alcaraz so I'm really excited to see him play for the very first time," he said on Tuesday. "I only practised once with him at Wimbledon when he was still a junior.

"And then the next day, my coach said, 'Do you want to warm up with him again?' and I said, 'No, it's okay, I'd rather warm up with his coach, who was my generation, Juan Carlos Ferrero.' I can apologise to Carlos this week."