Carlos Alcaraz is preparing for the last event of the season, which has a very special meaning for him. The former world No. 1 wants to lead Spain to triumph at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga and also wants to give one last joy to his illustrious compatriot Rafael Nadal before his retirement from professional tennis (the 22-time Grand Slam champion will leave the ATP tour after this tournament).
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The Spanish team's chances in this edition of the Davis Cup Finals depend a lot on the level of Carlitos, who does not play his best tennis in indoor conditions and was eliminated already in the group stage at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. The world number 3 had a fever before the ATP Finals and his health condition affected his performances last week. Alcaraz's level rose as the days went by, but it was not enough to access the semifinals.
The 4-time Grand Slam champion who won four titles in 2024 (including Roland Garros and Wimbledon) arrived in Malaga earlier than expected and started practicing very hard ahead of his debut against the Netherlands tomorrow. The 21-year-old from Murcia wants to end his season in style and the atmosphere of the Davis Cup could help him play at his best.
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Carlitos feels better
The Spanish champion is trying to improve his form these days, after the health problems he suffered last week. The former world No. 1 should be ready to play singles tomorrow, but he could also be used in doubles alongside Nadal.
"It means a lot to me to spend this week with Rafa, I feel very fortunate. Exciting moments are ahead. Personally, I feel almost at 100%, or certainly much better than in Turin. I have been able to train, and the feelings on court were very good, with practice sessions of high intensity and quality. I am ready to compete- Carlitos said in his press conference.
The 21-year-old from Murcia had already helped Spain during the Davis Cup ties played in September, when he defeated Tomas Machac and Ugo Humbert in Valencia.
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Alcaraz can still improve
Alcaraz's season has been truly excellent, considering that he is just 21 years old. The young Spaniard has had monstrous peaks by winning two Grand Slam titles, but he has not had the same regularity as his great rival Jannik Sinner during the year. For this reason, Carlos is more than 4000 points behind the Italian ace and will end 2024 behind Sascha Zverev in the ATP ranking.
Having won two Major titles each in 2024, many fans and insiders have wondered who was the best this year between Jannik and Carlitos. The 21-year-old from Murcia became the youngest ever to win the French Open and Wimbledon Championships in the same season, but the Italian has won eight titles and suffered just six losses since January.
In a recent interview with Tennis365, top coach Patrick Mouratoglou reflected on Alcarazs achievement this year: I think what he did is probably the most difficult thing to do in tennis, to win back to back, two tournaments that are opposite in terms of qualities to win them.
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At Roland Garros, you need to be high on your legs, sliding, using a lot to spin longer rallies. Then go to Wimbledon, where you have to return big servers on the surface that is, of course, better for counter punchers or players who are much more aggressive with less spin.
He continued: At the Wimbledon Championships, you have to be so low on the legs and not slide and wow, those two tournaments are so close in terms of timing, to make those two back to back, is probably one of most difficult things to do in tennis.
Then you look at what Sinner has achieved this year and it is also amazing. So many wins, two Grand Slams, world No 1. Along with CarlitosAlcaraz, they are both the players of the year.
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The Spaniard ace's goal next season will be to have more regularity, so that he can get closer to Sinner in the ATP ranking. In 2024, the 4-time Grand Slam champion struggled especially in Masters 1000 tournaments in which he achieved 'only' 75% of wins. At the same time, the painful lossagainst Serbian legendNovak Djokovic in the final of the Paris Olympics affected him especially at the US Open, where he was eliminated already in the second round.
Alcaraz also needs to improve his level in indoor conditions, where he struggles to use those variations from baseline that make him an impressive player on other surfaces. As in recent years, the Spaniard is not expected to play any tournaments before the 2025 Australian Open.
