Carlos Alcaraz is the new sensation of world tennis. The 19-year-old from Murcia did not fail in the final of the Mutua Madrid Open against the German Zverev, sweeping him aside. After eliminating Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the championship match did not have much of a story: the Spanish teenager is a hurricane, his superiority is undeniable, and he has the public in his pocket.
Alcaraz is a phenomenon, and around the court, the crème de la crème espagnole were in a state of euphoria as they watched the emergence of the heir to Rafa Nadal, their patriotic quintessence. The parade of celebrities and personalities who came and went from the Caja Mágica stadium in Madrid was never-ending, and the list was led by the highest authority in the state, king Felipe VI. We saw him in the quarter-final match against the Mallorcan in the presidential box, wearing sunglasses that fail to hide some strange grimaces. Perhaps he sensed that he was bringing bad luck: Alcaraz, half-injured; Nadal, completely humbled by a youth half his age; and a member of the public suffering from heat stroke, causing the match to be interrupted.
On Sunday afternoon, there were two types of mass spectacle on offer in Madrid: either the tennis final featuring the new jewel in the Spanish crown, or the trip to see the animals being tortured in the Las Ventas bullring. What a dilemma for a very specific family from the Spanish jet set: the king's sister, the Infanta Elena, and her children, Froilán and Victoria Federica. The daughter, influencer, chose the second option, that of watching helpless animals die as tradition dictates. We saw her enjoy the blood and suffering of the beasts in the enclosure stands, once again without her supposed boyfriend, Jorge Bárcenas. Their separation is a very loud secret.
For her part, Elena preferred to go to the tennis. And she did so accompanied by her born-again son Froilán. Having disappeared from the media spotlights for a long time, we have only kept up with him through nighttime video recordings or strange incidents such as the raid on his villa while he was out partying in Ibiza. There was even talk of a possible attempted kidnapping of the Marichalar Borbón, totally exaggerated and baseless rumors. But anyway, the mother and son attended the final act of Carlos Alcaraz in Madrid. And while the Murcian teenager put on the show down on the clay, the royal madonna and child offered a different sort of spectacle in the stands. Infanta Elena's expressions had social media users in stitches.
La cara de la infanta Elena … esa cara #TenisRTVE8M pic.twitter.com/AXuUfXQCPc
— TVMASPI (@sebas_maspons) May 8, 2022
Translation Tweet:
"The face of the Infanta Elena... that face"
Si gana fácil Alcaraz no veremos a la infanta Elena cantar "sí se puede"#TenisRTVE8M
— Pienso, luego pisto (@Ilovepisto) May 8, 2022
Translation Tweet:
"If Alcaraz wins easily we won't see the Infant Elena singing 'Yes we can' [a left-wing political slogan in Spain]"
#TenisRTVE8M ¿Tiene novia Carlitos ? Lo digo porque la Infanta Elena está en la grada, echándole miraditas y puede que... Con el tiempo...
— Tuitero Chafardero (@Alexelentendio) May 8, 2022
Translation Tweet:
"Do you have a girlfriend Carlitos? I ask because the Infanta Elena is in the stand, throwing glances your way, and just maybe... with time..."
They can't go unnoticed. Or perhaps they don't realise it. They are hypnotic.