Carlos Alcaraz Faces Djokovic Territory at Paris Masters and ATP Finals

Two walls rise at the end of the ATP season, the Paris Masters 1,000 already underway and the ATP Finals (from November 12 in Paris). And with 72 matches under his belt, six titles and just enough freshness (“if I say I’m 100% I’d be lying,” he confessed on Tuesday), Carlos Alcaraz appears in ‘Djokovic territory’. At the Accord Arena where the Serbian has won six times. Between the two tournaments, it is discussed who will be number one at the end of the season. Djokovic (51 matches and five titles) starts with a good advantage of 2,490 points in the ATP ranking and 500 in the Race, the annual classification that serves as a barometer for the battle for number one at the end of the year. Whatever happens, he will settle in Italy.

The Murcian, who makes his debut around 7:30 p.m. (Movistar Deportes) against the Russian Roman Safiullin (45th), resigned from Basel last week due to a problem in the plantar fascia of his left foot and muscle fatigue in the lower back. “After a long season, almost all the players have a few problems with their body,” he warns and then adds: “I come here feeling good enough to have a good result.” Alcaraz will have on his possible route Zverev or Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals and Medvedev in the semifinals.

For his part, Djokovic has not played since winning the US Open and participating in the Davis Cup the following week. He skipped the Asian tour, in which the Spaniard made the semi-finals in Beijing and the round of 16 in Shanghai. In the final stretch of the season he is always fearsome. On Sunday, the two protagonists trained together, oblivious to the speculations that are being made about them.

Alcaraz also intends to get rid of the bad taste that Paris-Bercy produces. In 2021 he collapsed 5-0 in the second set against local Hugo Gaston to lose in the third round. He ended up crying while the crowd sang La Marseillaise. “I didn’t imagine it could be so heavy,” he said later. Last year, he was injured in the quarterfinals against Holger Rune and said goodbye to the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup. “I don’t have good memories, but I’m trying to forget what happened,” he acknowledged. A good opportunity to reset. If his physique, between cotton, allows it.

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2023-10-30 23:58:00
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