Most tennis players are on vacation right now. The tennis season is one of the longest ever, starting in January and ending at the end of November, which is why players don't have much time to rest and disconnect from their job.
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Carlos Alcaraz has had a very positive season, having won Roland Garros and Wimbledon, as well as winning the silver medal for his country at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Although he achieved a very prestigious result this summer, the defeat against Novak Djokovic in the final of the Olympic tournament disappointed him a lot and made him lose some certainties.
The young Spaniard seemed almost unbeatable at that time, he had just defeated Nole Djokovic in the final of the Wimbledon Championships for the second year in a row and could play the Olympic tournament on his favorite surface (red clay).
Carlitos reached the final without losing a single set, but struggled to manage his nerves against a legend like Nole who made the difference in the decisive moments by prevailing in two tiebreaks. The last part of Alcaraz's season was better than last year, having won the title in Beijing after defeating Jannik Sinner in one of the best matches of the entire season.
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The 4-time Grand Slam champion did not end 2024 in style, given the premature eliminations at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin and the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga (with his Spain).
Alcaraz is in Dominican Republic
After the disappointment at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, Alcaraz said goodbye to his illustrious compatriot Rafa Nadal (who retired from professional tennis) and left for vacation.
The current world number 3 has been spotted alongside his brother Alvaro in the Dominican Republic, where he is resting before heading to New York.
Carlitos will play an exhibition match with Ben Shelton at Madison Square Garden next week.
The former world No. 1 will be preparing in Spain over the winter and will leave for Australia after Christmas, to get used to the weather and conditions before the 2025 Australian Open. The 21-year-old from Murcia has never played his best tennis in Melbourne up to this point in his career, never managing to go beyond the quarterfinals in his previous appearances.
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Carlitos wants to shine in 2025
In a recent interview with Tennis Channel, top coach Paul Annacone discussed Carlitos 2024 season: It takes great players to push each other and we are pretty fortunate after the last couple of decades to have two young guys at the top because it is going to be a lot of fun to watch them push each other.
I think what is amazing is Carlos won two Majors this year and didnt play great in either one of those majors.
I was court side for his Roland Garros semi-final and I saw all of his Wimbledon matches, he didnt play poorly, but for him, how skilled he is, he didnt play great.
He is managing that level well enough to win Majors, but periodically away from the Majors we have seen a couple of blips on the radar.
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Despite having already won four Grand Slam titles and five Masters 1000 titles, the young Spaniard still has plenty of room for improvement in several ways. The former world No. 1 can still grow in terms of mental strength and the ability to be consistent throughout the season, an aspect that is sent to him up to this stage of his career.
There is no doubt that Alcaraz is a great champion, but if he wants to return to the top of the ATP ranking he has to refine some details. The current world number 3 has big goals for next season, where he will try to undermine the first position of his great rival Sinner. These two young champions have faced each other three times this year, with the Spaniard always winning at the end of sensational battles.
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The 21-year-old from Murcia will be one of the top favorites at the AO, which will take place from January 12 to 26, but he will have to be able to play his best tennis from the first rounds.
In one of the last press conferences of the season, the Spanish ace urged everyone not to underestimate a legend like Novak Djokovic.
Although the Serbian champion has not won a single title in 2024 and is almost 38 years old, he has already shown that he can shock the moment in the most important tournaments (such as at the Paris Olympics). Nole will be the number 7 seed in Melbourne and could face Sinner or Alcaraz already in the quarterfinals.
