US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz is confident he will be able to reach peak form in time for the Australian Open which begins on January 16th.
The world No.1 was forced to end his breakthrough season early after sustaining an abdominal injury which ruled him out of the ATP Finals in Turin. Recently Alcaraz returned to competitive tennis by participating in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi over the weekend but came up short in both matches he played. Losing 6-2, 6-1, to Andrey Rublev in the semi-finals before falling 6-1, 6-4, to Norway’s Casper Ruud in the third-place playoff.
Whilst the results may not be the confidence boost the Spaniard is seeking, he remains confident that he will be fully fit in time for the first Grand Slam of the season where he will be the top seed. To put that into context, this year he was the 31st seed in the draw at Melbourne Park.
“I would say the key is to practise a lot, spend a lot of hours on court. With that, you’re going to reach your best level and be ready for the season,” news agency AFP quoted Alcaraz as saying over the weekend.
“I have one month before the Australian Open, so I have time to keep training, trying to reach my level and I would say I will be ready and 100 per cent heading into Australia.”
All eyes will be on Alcaraz in the next year to see if he will be able to capitalize on his meteoric rise in the sport this season. In 2022, he won two ATP 500’s, two Masters 1000’s and his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open. In Madrid, he became the youngest player to defeat both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the same tournament. He is also the youngest-ever ATP No.1 in history.
“I have to be prepared for that, the pressure. The people, the players as well, are going to have all their eyes on me and I’m going to have to be prepared,” he explained.
One of the biggest threats Alcaraz faces at the Australian Open will be nine-time champion Novak Djokovic who will return to the event for the first time in two years. This season he was unable to play after getting deported from the country following a legal dispute over his visa.
Djokovic was originally barred from re-entering Australia for three years under standard law when a person is deported but the latest government administration has waived that penalty. This is supported by Alcaraz who says he wants to take on the best in the world.
“Tennis is better having the best players in the world, and for the fans as well it’s good to see a tournament with the best players,” he said.
“Talking for me, I want to see Novak play in every tournament. I always said that if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best player in the world.
“I’m a lucky guy to have Djokovic on the tour.”
Alcaraz is the only player aged under 21 in the year-end top 10.
