Carlos Alcaraz has taken a great leap in 2022, having won a Grand Slam and two Masters 1000. The 19-year-old Spaniard won the US Open at the end of an impressive ride, in which he demonstrated all his wrestling skills. Thanks to his triumph in New York, ‘Carlitos’ became the youngest number 1 in the history of men’s tennis.
As if that were not enough, the Murcian also won two Masters 1000 (Miami and Madrid) and two ATP 500 (Rio and Barcelona). Juan Carlos Ferrero’s protégé took the honors by beating Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic during the Mutua Madrid Open, and then crushed Alexander Zverev in the final.
The performance of the Iberian ham dropped slightly in the last part of the season, also due to some physical problems. An abdominal strain suffered in Bercy forced him to miss the ATP Finals in Turin and the final phase of the Davis Cup in Malaga.
Alcaraz has taken advantage of these weeks to heal and has already resumed training. Carlos Alcaraz has already defined which tournaments he will play in the first part of 2023. The young Spaniard will play the Abu Dhabi exhibition from December 16 to 18, while his 2023 will begin with the ‘Kooyong Classic’, which will take place from December 10 to 12.
from January. ‘Carlitos’ will therefore appear at the Australian Open without having played any official tournament, as he has already done this year. After the first Slam of the season, Alcaraz will try to defend his title in Rio de Janeiro (February 20-26).
He will then move to cement, where he will participate in the tournaments in Acapulco (February 27-March 5), Indian Wells and Miami. In the latest edition of the podcast hosted by Craig Shapiro, former Ecuadorian player Nicolás Lapentti stated that Nadal at 19 was not as strong as Alcaraz.
Brad Gilbert on Alcaraz
In remarks granted to Tennis Majors, Brad Gilbert wished to insist on the mentality of Carlos Alcaraz, whom he compares to that of the legendary compatriot of the young world number 1, Rafael Nadal.
“I think a lot about Rafa, his incredible determination, his focus, no matter what happens he keeps fighting. At the US Open, Carlos plays three matches in a row in five sets. He has a late break against Cilic in the fifth, he saves a match point against Sinner, and against Tiafoe he misses a match point in the fourth before winning.
In all these matches, with Carlos it’s a bit like with Rafa, you always feel like it’s not over until the referee says game, set and game. It’s an incredible quality,” said the former coach of Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray.
