Carreño: "The goal remains to reach the final draw of Roland Garros"

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Just a week ago, I was interviewing Pablo Carreño (Gijón, 1991) after winning the first of two Challengers held in February in Tenerife, organized by MEF Tennis Events with the city's tourism sponsorship. My farewell sentence was: 'Well Pablo, in seven days we'll talk again, same place and time.' To which he responded: 'Hopefully, that would be very good news'.

Indeed, seven days later, our phones connected again, a joke that turned into reality thanks to the Asturian again reigning at the Abama Tenis Club. A rush of adrenaline that can be reflected in the following fact: from not winning a title since the summer of 2022 – with his first Masters 1000 in Canada – to stringing together two consecutive trophies to now being just eleven positions away from the top100.

No wonder the Spaniard appears so happy, satisfied, and above all, calm. A calmness brought about by being competitive again, a winner, and most importantly, without a trace of pain in his elbow. It's impossible to have two such good weeks if you're not performing at optimal levels of tennis and confidence. It's impossible not to be happy for a key player in recent Spanish tennis history, someone who still holds that fire within to strive for ambitious goals. I'm sure this interview won't be the last we conduct in 2025.

Pablo, I thought Tenerife was for vacation.

I came here for work, and here we are (laughs).

Any difference between the first and second week?

The difference was mainly physical and a bit mental in the last few days, I assure you I reached the last two matches with some reserves. I was very tired, although I was lucky in the second round when my opponent withdrew before stepping on the court, which made my path a bit easier. I did the work just as well as last week, I was very focused, going to win from the beginning and trying to set the pace. It has been two incredible weeks, I think I couldn't have done it any better.

You seemed much superior, you can't deny it.

Except for the match against Gaubas in the quarterfinals of the first tournament, which did get quite complicated, I solved the other matches quite well, with hardly any danger. That's because I stayed focused all the time, and that ultimately makes the difference. I'm not saying they felt inferior, but surely playing against me seemed like a daunting task to them. I've known how to take advantage of that, and that's why the results were more or less easy.

Do you feel you're at another level? Enough to leave the Challengers behind?

I don't know, I don't think I'm that superior, I hope I can leave the Challenger tournaments behind. For now, my next tournament is the Indian Wells qualifying. There will be a level change, a little step up, hopefully I won't notice it and can focus exclusively on the ATP events. As I told you last week, the goal remains to return to the top100...

You're #111 this week, you'll have to change that.

Hopefully! (laughs) When I achieve that, I'll change the goal, but for now, I'll keep it. It's clear that two weeks ago I came to Tenerife with the aim of breaking into the top100, knowing that I needed almost 300 points. Now I've earned 150 points in two weeks, which will help me a lot in reaching that goal. The objective is still to reach the main draw of Roland Garros.

You're a Masters 1000 champion, Davis Cup winner, Olympic medalist, top10... Do you think the best part of your career is behind you or is there more to come?

Well... it's tough [...] It will be difficult to replicate some of the results I've achieved in my career, after all, I'm turning 34 this summer and I've overcome some significant injuries, especially the last one. It's going to be challenging, but I'll try, of course. I'll do it without rushing, without putting pressure on myself, knowing what I have to do, as I've already shown on other occasions. I know the path, but I'll have to fight against much younger people, although I accept all the challenges that path entails.

This year, you've won one more match than in all of 2024. What does that tell you?

It tells me I played very little in 2024 (laughs). It wasn't very difficult to surpass that, it's February and I've barely played five tournaments, but it's a good sign, yes.

Current issue question: What do you think about Sinner's situation?

I don't know what to say, it's been weird [...] They are legal matters that I'm not sure how they work. If it happened that way, it's because that's how it works, in the end, the one who is hurt is Jannik because he's out for three months... although it probably won't hurt him as much as it could have at other times. Like I said, I don't know how these things work and hopefully I never find out, it would mean I got myself into trouble.

Well Pablo, we'll talk when you win Indian Wells.

Don't get ahead of yourself! (laughs) When I pass the qualifying round, that is.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Carreño: “El objetivo sigue siendo llegar al cuadro final de Roland Garros”