Carlos Alcaraz did not go beyond the quarterfinals at the 2025 Australian Open, where he was defeated by Novak Djokovic in four sets. The current world number 3 showed his usual weaknesses during the match against the Serbian legend and lost focus when he noticed that Nole was not in top form due to a left thigh injury, a mistake he himself admitted in the press conference.
The young Spaniard has worked hard during the off-season and is sure that the fruits of his efforts will be visible very soon. Unlike in recent years, the 21-year-old from Murcia decided not to go to South America to play tournaments on red clay but preferred the tournaments in Rotterdam and Doha in February.
The 4-time Grand Slam champion carried out his last practice session in Juan Carlos Ferrero's academy before flying to Netherlands, where he will be joined by Samuel Lopez. The latter has interrupted his long collaboration with Pablo Carreno Busta to start working with the former world number 1, in order to allow Ferrero to spend more time at home.
Alcaraz's potential path
Carlitos' potential path to Rotterdam is not simple. The Spaniard will make his debut against local idol Botic van de Zandschulp, who will benefit from the support of his fans and will have nothing to lose. The Dutch ace played the best match of his career against Alcaraz at the 2024 US Open, when he shocked the whole world by eliminating Carlos in the second round.
If he wins, the world number 3 is expected to face Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round. His most likely opponent in the quarterfinals is Holger Rune, before a possible semifinal against Andrey Rublev or Hubert Hurkacz. The last obstacle before the title could be Daniil Medvedev, without forgetting Alex de Minaur (finalist here last year) and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The Rotterdam ATP 500 had to accept the heavy renunciation of defending champion Jannik Sinner, who preferred to rest after his second triumph in a row at the Australian Open.
