Carlos Alcaraz really needed to enjoy the atmosphere of the Davis Cup. The young Spanish champion – who has not had easy moments in the last month – helped his Spain qualify for the Finals in Malaga by winning his two singles and a doubles together with his compatriot Marcel Granollers in Valencia.
The former world number 1 is not yet at his best, but it has been good for him to be with his friends and to be supported by his fans. Carlitos’s level has dropped after the painful final of the Paris Olympics lost to Novak Djokovic, influencing his performances in Cincinnati and especially at the 2024 US Open.
The four-time Grand Slam champion was eliminated in the second round in New York, failing to defend the semi-final reached the previous year. Due to the premature elimination, the 21-year-old from Murcia had to say goodbye to his chance of returning to the top of the ATP ranking by the end of 2024.
Carlitos is recovering
The current world number 3 has won two Majors this year as Jannik Sinner, but the Italian ace has had a greater consistency over the course of the season and has a big lead in the ATP Race. The two young champions faced each other twice in 2024 – in Indian Wells and at the French Open respectively – with the Spaniard winning twice.
Carlitos’ next tournament will be the Laver Cup, which will take place in Berlin this weekend. Although 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal will be missed, fans will enjoy a great show. 2024 was a pretty good year for Carlos Alcaraz. The Spanish tennis player has had ups and downs during his season, but he was almost always among the protagonists in the highlights and brought home important tournaments such as Roland Garros and Wimbledon. The silver medal at the Paris Olympics has definitely hurt the young Spaniard, ko later but in the last few days we have seen a Carlos at ease and smiling during the Davis Cup where he gave an aid to his Spain to reach the finals of the Davis Cup in Malaga.
A tournament that the Spanish champion will play at home and the goal is not to say win, a tournament that he will conquer for the first time in his career. Not only Davis but also Laver Cup, competition that will start in these days and that will still see Italy on the court. The Italians are the defending champions and with Jannik Sinner, number one in the world, they will try to break the encore. Speaking of the Laver Cup to be held in Berlin, Alcaraz said: “I like it, I always wanted to be part of this tournament and I think this is a serious competition. I think we have to represent Europe as best we can, this tournament has a lot of prestige and winning the Laver Cup is definitely something big”.
This tournament will feature some of the best tennis players in the world, Sinner and Djokovic will be missing but there will be many other protagonists and Alcaraz continues: “Well, it will be fun. We’ll laugh a lot and I think I’ll spend time with them without talking about tennis. It will be different and I like different things,” he admits.
Nice words also for Bjorn Borg, who starred as captain of Team Europe in the Laver Cup: “He is one of the players that brought tennis to the top and I hope to learn a lot from him, he is a legend of tennis and sport in general. My father is also a big fan of his, so being coached by Bjorn Borg will be a really important moment for me, for my career and for my life”. In this edition of the Laver Cup, Team Europe is clearly favored for victory.
Rick Macci praises Alcaraz
After the US tour, Alcaraz will go to Asia and will be among the protagonists of the tournament in Beijing in 2024. The former world number 1 didn’t shine last year in this part of the season, not winning a single title. Carlitos admitted he was not comfortable on the indoor hard courts and that he had to improve a lot in these particular conditions.
On his official X account, Rick Macci paid tribute to Alcaraz: “What makes Alcaraz so unique. There has never been a player on the ATP tour at a young age that has checked almost every box as a weapon. Make up speed technical efficiency creativity intensity and calming skills all wrapped in One to be number One for many years.”
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