Carlos Alcaraz: ATP Nitto Finals and Foot Injury Doubts

Carlos Alcaraz (20) moves between yes and a qualified no. Alcaraz will be at the ATP Nitto Finals, the masters cup that starts this Sunday in Turin, but he is not sure that the matter will end well. He tells it about his left foot, plantar fasciitis that, for weeks, has been causing him pain and affecting his play. He admits it himself and statistics corroborate it. Also read Sergio Heredia Since his wonderful triumph at Wimbledon in July, the second Grand Slam of his career, the Murcian has had more setbacks than successes. He has been a finalist in Cincinnati and a semi-finalist in the US Open and in Beijing, but his performance has declined in recent times: Dimitrov has knocked him down in the round of 16 in Shanghai and the modest Safiulin, in his debut at the Masters 1,000 in Paris . “I’m 100%,” Alcaraz said these days in Turin, although he says it with a small mouth. Circumstances determine his first appearance among the eight rackets in the world, a window that he had missed last year, then prevented by an abdominal injury. There is no way for there to be a fit between the tournament and Spanish tennis, since Rafael Nadal has never been able to appropriate it either, weighed down and melted as he used to end the year. (Among the Spaniards, only Manolo Orantes and Àlex Corretja have won it; the first, in 1976, against Wojtek Fibak, and Corretja, in 1998, against Carlos Moyá). Carlos Alcaraz signs autographs in the Piazzetta Reale in Turin, this Friday Alessandro di Marco / EFE Nobody, in the first seven months of the year, would have imagined a defeat for Alcaraz against Safiulin, to cite a recent example. Until July, the Murcian talent had been a tennis steamroller. He had won six of the ten tournaments he had played in and had been a finalist or semi-finalist in three others (he had only lost in Rome, defeated by Marozsán after his magnificent string of victories). The world of tennis was his. Novak Djokovic, in his presence, took off his hat. “Alcaraz has the best of each of the Big Three players,” the Serbian admitted after his defeat in the Wimbledon final. -What do you think Djokovic was referring to? -this chronicler asked Alcaraz at his temporary residence in Wimbledon, one day after his victory. -I suppose I have some of Nadal’s mental strength and level of defenses. Although mentally, I think he is much better than anyone, myself included. And Federer’s shots, that going to the net and volleying, that creativity. And Djokovic’s physical level, his elasticity, his way of sliding… -answered the Murcian. Also read Sergio Heredia Now, both talents, Djokovic and Alcaraz, are in different stages. After that defeat against Alcaraz at Wimbledon, the Serbian has multiplied, thus questioning the burden of age, his 36 years: Djokovic has won everything he has played, including the US Open (there are also Cincinnati and the Paris Masters), and has opened a gap of almost 3,000 points over the Murcian, a chasm that leaves him one step away from closing the year as number 1. (A milestone he has reached on seven other occasions). Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, during training, this week in Turin Marco Alpozzi / LaPresse -It is enough for me to win a single match here, in Turin -Djokovic said these days. The Serbian is the boss of tennis, but also a rarity. He lives propped up on a throne, where, for years, Federer and Nadal have accompanied him, and from above he contemplates the generational duel that occurs one step below. None of his fellow adventurers in this Masters Cup have reached thirty. Medvedev, Rublev, Tsitsipas and Zverev are between 25 and 27. They belong to the Next Gen. The rest, not even that. Alcaraz, Sinner and Rune are still the puppies, the generation that intends to eat up the Next Gen. The battle starts this Sunday at the Palasport in Turin. In the green group, Sinner and Tsitsipas play at 2:30 p.m. Djokovic and Rune, on the night shift, at 9 p.m. And on Monday, in the red group, Alcaraz-Zverev (2:30 p.m.) and Medvedev-Rublev (9 p.m.).
2023-11-12 06:57:30
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