After a few months of ups and downs between the Olympic silver medal and the US Open, Carlos Alcaraz seems to have returned to his level, as previously shown first at the Laver Cup exhibition in Berlin and now at the China Open in Beijing.The Spaniard has in fact accumulated 7 consecutive victories between the Davis Cup, Laver Cup and the Chinese ATP 500, in which he reached the semifinals.
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The victory obtained on Monday in China by the Spanish tennis player against Karen Khachanov underlined how in the important moments, the young Carlitos has been able to bring the inertia on his side and obtain the success in two sets.
The 21-year-old, already on Sunday in the match dominated with Tallon Griekspoor, has conquered the coveted milestone of 200 victories.
Alcaraz has become the second youngest player to achieve this record: ahead of everyone is the American legend John McEnroe, immediately after Carlitos who succeeded before the champion and his countryman Rafael Nadal. Mats Wilander, Jimmy Connors and Boris Becker follow. Only 50 victories currently separate Alcaraz from Jannik Sinner, who has a few more years of experience on the ATP Tour.
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A datathat certifies the superiority of the young Spaniard compared to all the other tennis players of his generation, including Jannik Sinner. The young Spaniard, who at his age has already won 4 Majors and broken many precociousness records, has everything on his side to be able to aspire to get close to the level of the Big 3.
The only aspect on which he will still have to work is that consistency of mental solidity to maintain his level throughout an entire season. A truly difficult mission (Let's not forget that Alcaraz is only a 21-year-old boy), but one that, at least in my opinion, he will be able to manage with time.
In the semifinals of Beijing, Alcaraz will have to challenge the other Russian Daniil Medvedev, one of the most fearsome players on hard courts, to earn a place in the final. The victory allowed Carlitos to climb back to 2nd place in the ATP world ranking: Alcaraz virtually overtook Alexander Zverev by just 5 points. An exchange of positions that also occurred in the ATP Race, where a second position is essentially at stake, which is precious in view of the draw for the groups at the ATP Finals in Turin and to avoid ending up in the same group as his Italian rival.
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And speaking of Sinner, it is not an easy moment for the ATP No.1. The Italian is in the spotlight for the much-discussed doping-issue, after WADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency, decided to appeal against the ITIA's decision to acquit the Italian.
"The World Anti-Doping Agency confirms that it has lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Thursday 26 September in the case of Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner, who was found by an independent tribunal of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) to be without fault or negligence for having tested positive twice for Clostebol, a prohibited substance, in March 2024. WADA believes that the finding of 'no fault or negligence' is not correct under the current rules and therefore requests a period of ineligibility of between 1 and 2 years."
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If on the court Jannik is grappling with this problem, on the court there is a fact that demonstrates the ability of the ATP No.1 to stay focused, leaving the rest behind. The Italian, in 2024, managed to win 9 times out of 11 cases when he was down after losing the first set. Important numbers that testify to the great willpower of the Italian champion, with very high percentages and above 80% when the Italian is down in the number of sets. Just look at how Alcaraz, in the same data in 2024, has only reached 54% of victories from a set down.
