Carlos Alcaraz Hungry for Success in 2024 Season

He returns. And he’s hungry. “I’m really excited about this tournament,” Carlos Alcaraz immediately announces. The reasons are multiple. Deprived of the Australian Open last year because he was injured, the Spaniard has the fangs for his third stay in Melbourne even though he has not played a single tournament yet in 2024. He is therefore thirsty for victories . And above all, we want to launch 2024 on the best possible track. “This season is going to be very exciting. I hope it will be as good as 2023,” he slips, showing his desire to go even higher. “I’m not perfect, so I need to improve a lot of things on and off the field.”

At 20, Alcaraz is a perfectionist. A man of challenge too. The world number 2 is salivating at the idea of ​​facing Novak Djokovic on his favorite field. In Melbourne, Djoko has indeed accumulated successes to win no less than ten Australian Opens. Better yet, he hasn’t lost there since 2018. So obviously, beating him in Australia is not a challenge like any other. “Knowing these statistics is an additional motivation,” said the Spaniard. “I am an ambitious person, I always want to play against the best players in the world to assess my level. Playing against him in the tournament where he is almost undefeated, it’s obviously a good test. I hope to reach the final and face him, that would be great.”

Carlos Alcaraz at a press conference

Credit: Getty Images

The absence of Ferrero? “It’s difficult not having him by my side”

Before offering himself this ultimate test against the Serbian, Carlos Alcaraz has a long way to go. Opposed to Richard Gasquet in the first round, he will have to reach the final to hope to cross paths with his best enemy again. And it won’t necessarily be obvious as he arrives at the meeting for the first round of the 2024 Grand Slam without any benchmarks.

“I preferred to take a vacation, take the time to recover physically and mentally, and to do a very good preparation. We needed four or five weeks to properly prepare for the season,” he explains about his decision to starting his year directly in Melbourne and even though he has not played a high-stakes match since his defeat in the semi-final of the Turin Masters (6-3, 6-2) almost two months ago. “I think I’m a player who doesn’t need a lot of competition before a big tournament. (…) I’m ready to do good things here.”

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The clear objective is to try to win another Grand Slam

However, the Murcian must also juggle another unknown before this tournament: the absence of Juan Carlos Ferrero, his coach. The former Roland-Garros winner recently underwent knee surgery which prevented him from traveling to Australia. And Alcaraz finds himself competing in a Major without his mentor. “It’s difficult not to have him by my side, admitted the former world number 1. He is almost always present during tournaments. It will be difficult to approach such a tournament without him. But Samuel Lopez is with me and he’s also a great coach.” Winning without Juan Carlos Ferrero is, however, another challenge. At the height of the talent of “Carlitos”.

Already a double Grand Slam winner at the age of 20 (US Open 2022 and Wimbledon 2023) and become the youngest world No.1 in history in 2022, Carlos Alcaraz is not hiding for this new season: “This year , I hope to do as well as in 2023… The clear objective is to try to win another Grand Slam, I will give everything to achieve that.. If I repeat the year 2023, this will be beyond fabulous.” We warned you, he’s hungry.

2024-01-13 09:09:00
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