Carlos Alcaraz has started his adventure at the ATP Finals for the second consecutive year with a defeat. Last year he lost to Alexander Zverev after a very hard-fought match, but the same cannot be said for yesterday’s match, which however was clearly affected by his precarious physical condition due to a stomach problem. And the news filtering out of Turin, however, is not reassuring. The young Spaniard’s training session has in fact been cancelled. The 4-time Slam champion has respiratory problems and has been on antibiotics for days. This news was reported by Spanish journalist German R. Abril.
Today Alcaraz will take some rest in preparation for the match he is scheduled to play tomorrow against Andrey Rublev, which is already crucial for the group. Carlos may not recover in time to play against the Russian, which would preclude the end of his campaign at the year-end Masters.
His coach Juan Carlos Ferrero gave important updates on the physical condition of his player, explaining: “He is struggling to breathe. We cannot say now if he will play tomorrow or not. We have all played in these conditions, but it is very difficult that he will be 100%.” In the event that Alcaraz were to withdraw from the Finals, his place would be taken by Grigor Dimitrov, first reserve.
But what worries fans most also concerns the Davis Cup Finals and the last match played alongside Rafael Nadal, who will give his farewell to tennis on that occasion. Fans obviously hope to be able to witness a last doubles between Carlitos and Rafa, but only in the next few hours will we find out if this can happen or not.
Yesterday, at the press conference, Alcaraz had given some information about his physical condition and the discomfort that has weakened him, analyzing: “I didn’t feel good on the court. It doesn’t matter how many times I beat Ruud: he is always an uncomfortable opponent to play against. I think he did a great job today. Talking about myself, however, I say that I could have done better. I don’t have much experience on indoor courts, I have to improve. I don’t feel like a terrible indoor tennis player, but there are many players who are better than me in these conditions. A few days before coming here, I got sick. During training I didn’t feel very good but enough to play. Obviously the matches are completely different. Today I didn’t feel good, this morning I had stomach problems. In the long rallies I didn’t feel good at all. It’s not an excuse, I feel really bad. Every player is mentally tired at the end of the season, those who say otherwise are lying! Some tennis players handle this better. I am mentally tired: there are many matches, a busy schedule, a very busy year, few days off.”
