A year ago, Carlos Alcaraz did not play the Masters 1,000 in Montreal as he did not have the necessary ranking to access the final table. Now, just 365 days later, The 19-year-old Spaniard is ready to debut in Canada being number four in the ATP ranking and second seed in the event. Carlitos appears in Montreal, which officially starts today, as the star he is in world tennis.
“I feel very good. I will enjoy. Every time I come to a city or a tournament for the first time I really enjoy it. I’ts something new for me”, said the one from El Palmar in the draw, which gave him a debut against the winner of Paul-Pospisil in the second round. On his way there is a hypothetical match against Rublev in the quarterfinals, and against Sinner in the semifinals. Montreal will be the first hard court tournament played by Alcaraz since his victory in Miami in April of this year. In 2022, he accumulates a 12-2 record on hard court, being one of the tennis players with the best record on this surface.
It is not simply a utopia: Alcaraz can reach the US Open (August 29) as the leader of the ATP ranking. For it, between Montreal and Cincinnati would have to win one and reach the final of the otherwhile Medvedev, the first seed in Canada and champion in Los Cabos, would not have to reach any semifinal.
Difficult, but not impossible in a tournament that once again misses the entire ‘Big Three’: Nadal and Federer due to injury, and Djokovic due to his refusal to be vaccinated, will not be in Montreal. After 16 years in a row in which at least one of the three attended each Masters 1,000 that was played, in five of the last ten events in this category that have been played, all three have been absent. Time of change.
