Carlos Alcaraz: Reflecting on His Semifinal Match Against Zverev at the ATP Finals

Alcaraz after his match against Zverev at the ATP Finals (REUTERS).

The lights of the Pala Alpitour were losing strength until they went out completely to receive two tennis players who shine with their own light. Novak Djokovic, world number one, and Carlos Alcaraz, his immediate pursuer in the ATP ranking. The heart of the pavilion beat with more vigor than in any match played on the fast Turin court. Fans were aware of the magnitude of seeing a duel between two tennis players, separated by a distance of 16 years, who have reinvented the greatest tennis rivalry in 2023 by facing each other four times. The last one, in Turin, was scored by the Serbian (3-6, 2-6), thus sealing his place in the final of the ATP Finals.

Carlos Alcaraz said goodbye to the ATP Finals in the semifinals and with his head held high, after going further than his physical and mental state predicted. The defeat in Turin means the end for Carlitos of a season that, despite the results and sensations of the last tournaments, is the best since he has competed on the circuit. His six titles, one of them at Wimbledon, and the semifinals of Roland Garros and US Open are other great results of the year. In addition to his titles in Buenos Aires, Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Queens and Indian Wells.

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His coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, explains in the microphones of Cadena Ser the drop in performance of his pupil during the last part of the season. “He has to learn that the season is long, that it is his job and he cannot have as many breaks as he would like. If he wants to be the best he has to act like the best and be professional all year round. It is what it is and we have to accept it. The calendar is what we have, it is as it is and there are obligations on the part of the ATP to play the Masters 1000 and the ITF for the Grand Slams. Making the calendar shorter than what we have done this year is difficult. 18 tournaments have been played, which are really quite few, but he has played many games and that is what has led him to that level of mental fatigue in the end,” he assures.

The world number one in tennis, Carlos Alcaraz, has three brothers. Two of them are also involved in the world of tennis

The last final against Djokovic showed Carlitos that he still has a way to go. “In this type of situation you can see it. At a tennis level, on this type of surface, we still have a little bit to do, and at a mental level, facing it knowing that you are going to have a very tough match, you have to be a little better prepared. You have to get used to the fact that if you play at such a high level, every week you have the demand to win, to play against the best and that demand, sometimes, takes you to the limit of mental fatigue, which is what has happened. at the end of the season. It ended with a very bad feeling, like feeling a little inferior, but I think it is a little far from reality,” he says.

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“When I feel physically well, I know that rivals have a hard time beating me. I don’t feel better or superior to anyone, but I am clear that they have to play at a high level to beat me,” he stated after reaching the quarterfinals in Madrid. The Asian tour has been devastating. In Beijing it was Sinner who beat him in the semifinals. Dimitrov did the same in the Shanghai tournament and Safiullin in Paris before Zverev surprised him in the group stage of the ATP Finals in Turin.

Alcaraz leaves Italy with a defeat that does not tarnish a huge year with the victory at Wimbledon as the highlight and the semifinals at Roland Garros and the US Open as other great results. Carlitos continues to take leaps and bounds. He promises memorable moments.

2023-11-20 16:56:00
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