The best version of Carlos Alcaraz is coming back. The young Spanish champion - who had defeated Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round in Beijing - has shown an exceptional performance against the dangerous Tallon Griekspoor by entering the quarterfinals.
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The four-time Grand Slam champion prevailed with a 6-1 6-2 score playing his best tennis and proving to be perfectly at ease on these courts. The former world number 1 had already given signs of recovery during the Davis Cup and the Laver Cup, two events that were useful to him to find the best feelings after a very complicated month.
The loss to Novak Djokovic in the final of the Olympic tournament in Paris had affected a lot of Carlitos' mind, who had seemed nervous and frustrated both during the Cincinnati Masters 1000 and the US Open. The 21-year-old from Murcia seems to have learned his lesson and is ready to close the season in the best way. His next opponent in Beijing will be Russian aceKaren Khachanov, who is not living the best season of his career.
Alcaraz has always shown great tennis against the Russian ace, who can be dangerous on such a court thanks to his serve and his powerful game from the baseline. The Spanish ace could face Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals and his great rival Jannik Sinner in the final. Fans and insiders have noticed that the former world number 1 is playing his best tennis again and may win this tournament after reaching the semi-final in 2023.
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Carlitos' milestone
Defeating Griekspoor in Beijing, Carlitos scored his 200th win in the ATP tour. "Achieving my 200 victories on the tour has been a great accomplishment. I always try and want to win every match I play. I've only been on the tour for two and a half years, so reaching 200 wins is great for me the Spaniard said during the press conference.
The current World No.3 is ready for the next challenge: "I feel comfortable playing in Beijing, I think the conditions suit my style and my game very well. I just want to keep progressing, and I believe I played a very good and solid match today, I felt very comfortable. Hopefully, in the next round, I'll feel even better or as good as today. It's been a long time since I played a final and I'm eager to do it again. Obviously, in every tournament I go to, I try to play my best tennis to reach the final or win. In the last two tournaments, I didn't do it, I didn't feel as good as I would have liked. Right now, I feel prepared and I feel good, I feel my tennis is back. Every match is tough, but I feel ready to keep playing good tennis and achieve great results here and in Shanghai."
An excellent season
The Spanish ace has won three titles this season: the Indian Wells Masters 1000, the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships. The 21-year-old from Murcia also won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, bursting into tears after his loss to Djokovic. Lately, Carlitos has been the subject of a lot of discussion because of his attack on the ATP calendar. In the latest edition of his podcast, former American ace Andy Roddick expressed his point of view about this topic: Lets be done by November 1st. The entire month of November should be 250s (ATP 250 tournaments) and the top players would not have to play in them.
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So play your World Tour Finals and wrap it up. Let them rest of the season and not have them running on fumes. The players that have played the most have to recover. When Carlos is saying it, and he never says anything negative about anything, it says its too much. And they are like mandatory events. Carlos just stop playing the mandatory events. I bet they are not going to throw you off tour. Call their bluff. World Tour Finals are responsible for a very, very, very significant part of their ATP Tour revenue. Its not like you are boycotting the US Open and someone isnt getting their $100,000 first-round losers paycheck.
Are they going to replace you at the World Tour Finals with someone who didnt qualify? That sounds like a fun marketing campaign! Announce at the beginning of the year that we are not playing it and we will play it next year if you shorten it. The current world number 3 decided to skip the ATP 500 in Basel this year.
