That broken racket in Cincinnati; at the US Open, the index finger with which he pointed and assured that his head was not working; Tomas Machac punishing him with his shots in the Shanghai network; and in Paris-Bercy despair on a devilishly fast track. In the last two months Carlos Alcaraz He has experienced four disappointments, the four biggest disappointments of the year. His 2024 has been historic, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and Olympic silver, but the cold came soon. As has happened in other seasons, autumn does not favor him, it weighs him down, it costs him. Because? At 21 years old, he is beginning to understand it.
«Maybe I am a player who needs longer breaks to face important tournaments. “I have to reflect on it, but I have gone from less to more,” said the now third-ranked man in New York, although in the following weeks he demonstrated that theory is far from practice. On his debut at the ATP Finals this Monday against Casper Ruud (not before 2:00 p.m., Movistar), Alcaraz arrives again with a loaded backpack after having played the preliminary phase of the Davis Cup, two friendly tournaments such as the Laver Cup and the Six Kings Slam and of course the entire possible calendar with the victory in the ATP 500 in Beijing as the only joy.
The “trap” of tennis players
«Tennis players live in a trap. We can play tournaments practically every week and to rest we have to give up some. What’s up with that? That balance is very difficult. If you win, they will say that you have made a good calendar choice and if you lose, that you have not. It is difficult to know each other, to know when you are playing in reserve, to have a cool head. You have to sacrifice weeks, it is the last way, but it is complicated,” he analyzes Roberto Bautistaafter winning the ATP 250 in Antwerp this October at the age of 36, his first victory since the summer of 2022. As he explains, defeats are sometimes a respite, because they force rest, and victories are sometimes exhausting, because they cannot be celebrated.
«It must be said that Alcaraz, as young as he is, has been winning one or two Grand Slams for three seasons. It’s hard to get used to that rhythm. After a big victory you have to know how to manage the following weeks very well so that you don’t get burned. Last year it was very clear that he lacks gas, this year I think he arrives better at this Masters although Sinner and possibly Zverev are a little above,” he points out. Alex Corretjatoday a commentator for Movistar, whose great success as tennis players, the 1998 Masters, came in November and who also won three other ATP tournaments between October and November.
“Time with family and friends”
Alcaraz, on the other hand, has collected his 14 of his 16 titles from January to July and has only celebrated twice afterwards: in 2022, at the US Open in September, and this year at the ATP 500 in Beijing. In fact, he still has no indoor title. One solution would be to free the beginning of the course from competitions, but it is not only that. After all, this year he has missed three Masters 1000 – Monte Carlo and Rome due to injury and Montreal due to exhaustion – while Jannik Sinner He has only been absent from one. The Italian, yes, gave up the Olympic Games, some ATP 500, the start of this Davis Cup and several exhibitions.
«Maybe he hasn’t played more games than others, but he has accumulated more events, more events with sponsors, more exhibition tournaments, in short, more psychological wear. A tennis player has certain obligations, but he also needs rest and distraction, that is, time with family or friends,” he concludes. Juan Carlos Campillosports psychologist Carolina Marín among others, who, like the rest of those questioned, assures that Alcaraz will manage his calendar better over time. “He will learn the hard way, like everyone else,” he concludes.