World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz will indeed be participating in the 2024 Australian Open. While most of his rivals opted to compete in the warm-up ATP events before heading to Melbourne, the Spaniard didn’t opt for the same.
Carlos Alcaraz concluded the 2023 season with a semifinal finish at the ATP Finals in November. A month later, he faced off against Novak Djokovic and Roberto Bautista Agut in an exhibition match in Saudi Arabia and Spain respectively, and won both of them.
Alcaraz’s first contest of 2024 was a charity match at the Australian Open itself. He took on Alex de Minaur at the Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday, January 10, but lost 4-6, 7-5, 3-10. The Spaniard will next face off against Casper Ruud on Friday to conclude this week’s series of charity matches.
Alcaraz’s results at the Australian Open pale in comparison to his achievements at other Majors. He has already won the US Open and Wimbledon and has made it to the semifinals of the French Open. However, he’s yet to progress beyond the third round in Melbourne and has a 3-2 record at the venue.
Carlos Alcaraz has been handed a reasonable draw at the 2024 Australian Open
Carlos Alcaraz is the second seed at the 2024 Australian Open. He will begin his quest in Melbourne against Richard Gasquet, who’s far from his best these days. He could meet either Lorenzo Sonego or Dan Evans in the second round, with Alexander Bublik being his likely foe in the third round.
Tommy Paul, who has given Alcaraz a tough time in the past, could meet him in the fourth round. Jack Draper is another potential candidate for the 20-year-old at this stage.Either Alexander Zverev or Casper Ruud could await Alcaraz in the quarterfinals. The list of potential semifinal opponents for the Spaniard can be narrowed down to Daniil Medvedev, Holger Rune and Grigor Dimitrov. He could be up against Novak Djokovic or Jannik Sinner in the championship round.Should either of the two falter before that, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton and Karen Khachanov are some of the big names who could make it to the final.Given the draw, Alcaraz has enough time to play himself into form. While a few players in his half of the draw could give him a tough time, he also has the game to beat all of them.
