Carlos Alcaraz will not exactly be one of the favorites to win the Nitto ATP Finals. The young Spanish champion still fails to express his best tennis in indoor conditions and was eliminated in the round of 16 at the Rolex Paris Masters last week, revealing great difficulties of adaptation to the surface. Carlos has been included in the ‘John Newcombe group’ along with Sascha Zverev, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev, while in the ‘Ilie Nastase group’ there will be Sinner, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur.
It is rumored that the surface of Turin is slower than last year, but the 4-time Grand Slam champion will start a little behind Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev. The German player has overtaken the Spanish in the ATP ranking thanks to his triumph at Paris-Bercy, which guaranteed him to put on the bulletin board the seventh Masters 1000 of his career. The four-time Grand Slam champion wants to achieve a great result in the most important event of the ATP calendar and he practiced hard at the Ferrero Tennis Academy before reaching Turin, where he trained today with Zverev.
In 2022, Carlitos did not play the ATP Finals due to an abdominal injury suffered at Paris-Bercy, while last year he reached the semi-finals without expressing his best tennis. Last year, the 21-year-old from Murcia had raised his level as he passed through the matches but was literally smashed by Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals.
Corretja believes in Alcaraz
There are no high expectations for Alcaraz in this edition of the Nitto ATP Finals, so the Spaniard will be able to play with less pressure than usual. The Finals could be important for the Spaniard to try to regain second place in the ATP ranking. At present, there are 505 points separating Sascha and Carlitos. The ATP Finals awarded 1500 points, so Alcaraz has a chance to overtake. However – if Zverev were to reach the final from unbeaten and gain 1000 points – he would be sure to finish 2024 in second place.
During an interview with Eurosport before the start of the ATP Finals, former ATP ace and top analyst Alex Corretja discussed Alcaraz’s chances in Turin: “Alcaraz is going to arrive in great form. He has won some tournaments on fast courts, notably defeating Sinner in the final, which boosts his confidence. In Paris-Bercy, the court was faster than he prefers; in the Masters, everything is wide open, and everyone arrives mentally exhausted. Carlos has learned from the past, he will be a bit fresher than last season. I trust in him, he’s a player for big moments, and the Masters is one of them.”
An amazing season
Regardless of the outcome of the ATP Finals, 2024 was still full of memorable moments for the Spanish champion. The 21-year-old from Murcia won his second title in a row at Indian Wells during the spring, achieved the feat of winning the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year and won the silver medal at the Paris Olympics, Ceding only to a great Djokovic in the final. The current world number 3 could have gotten a little more in the Masters 1000 tournaments, where he suffered some quite unexplained defeats for a champion of his caliber.
In an interview with ‘Sky Sports Tennis’, former Australian ace Pat Cash praised Carlitos for his huge completeness: “He hasn’t got a weakness. I almost think he is one of the best … the best player I have ever seen on grass at his best. Ever seen and I am talking about ever seen.
Because he is a young guy, he has taken the best of Rafa, the best of Federer and he has been able to adapt that. Without these great players, he wouldn’t have had that, and he admits that. He said without Rafa ‘I wouldn’t be where I am’, but he has just taken the best of everything and somehow at the age of 21 has put it all together. I have never seen anything like that.”
The former world number 1 still has room for improvement to become one of the best players ever. Carlos wants to become even more consistent during the season, so as to try to undermine the leadership of current world number 1 Sinner. Their rivalry is a great incentive for both, as the Big 3 did in the previous era. Alcaraz and Sinner faced each other three times in official matches in 2024, with the 21-year-old from Murcia always victorious. The Italian ace won the final of the ‘Six Kings Slam‘ in Saudi Arabia, but it was only an exhibition that is not counted in official statistics.
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