Sheltered from the cold that increases in Turin, inside the renamed Inalpi Arena, where the ATP Finals, Carlos Alcaraz He trained on Friday for two hours, and in front of a large and enthusiastic children’s audience, with Daniil Medvedev, one of the eight best tennis players of the season who, like the Spaniard, will compete for the last individual title of the course. Winner of four Grand Slams at 21 years old, Alcaraz is still trying to find the most optimal way that allows him to lift a trophy of such prestige and so difficult to win.which even Rafa Nadal himself resisted.
“I come here in a slightly different way, knowing that there are things I have to change if I want to have a good result and go far. Last year I didn’t start well. I will always try to maintain the same level and play good tennis. I come with a lot of motivation,” said Carlos in the heart of the Piedmontese city, where he participated in a game proposed by the ATP with the Italian Jannik Sinner, his greatest rival and main favorite. In 2022, he was unable to debut in the Finals due to injury and in 2023 he went from less to more until he ran into an immeasurable Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.ultimately champion, voluntarily absent in this edition.
“Last year was a difficult end of the year for me. I didn’t arrive at my best moment. The last two games here were pretty good, but the previous two or three tournaments I didn’t play well, so I realized that I had to change a little at this time of year, which I did this season,” Alcaraz acknowledged. Although in his last competition, the Paris Masters 1,000, he did not go beyond the round of 16 when he was defeated by the Frenchman Ugo Humbert, who later lost to Alexander Zverev in the final. The German was the Murcian’s training partner on Thursday and is another of the clear contenders to win the title.
Professionalism
After that defeat against Djokovic, Alcaraz’s coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero was harsh when evaluating his performance since the US Open. “You have to learn to be a great professional all year round and do things when it’s time.”; train when it’s time, have a good time when it’s time, disconnect when it’s time, and well, in that aspect we have to improve certain things that he knows and is trying to do,” analyzed the Valencian. Those words did not fall on deaf ears and Carlos admits that in 2024 he has learned “a lot.” “I know myself more as a person and as a player: what I need to do, on and off the court. Some of my losses this year were really painful for me: what I have to do is train on the days off. The objective is not only to do well on the court, but also to know what you have to do on your days off: how many days to take before going to a tournament and prepare yourself as best as possible,” explains the one from El Palmar.
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Alcaraz arrived in Turin on Wednesday and still has time to adapt to the fast indoor court at Inalpi. On Monday he will face the Norwegian Casper Ruud, who trained yesterday with the Australian Alex de Miñaur. The conditions are not the ones that best suit his game, but he should have no problem catching up in his group, along with Zverevthe crosses on Saturday the 16th. The trips, the games and the accumulated pressure weigh, but each time he accumulates more experience.
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