Coming down the stretch of a grueling 2024 campaign, playing with a cold and on a surface that doesn’t suit his game, and having already lost his first match in straight sets, Carlos Alcaraz could have thrown in the towel at the Nitto ATP Finals.
Instead, he raised his level in a big way to keep his tournament hopes alive.
Alcaraz beat Andrey Rublev 6-3, 7-6(8) on Wednesday afternoon in Turin, improving to 1-1 in Group John Newcombe. The Spaniard served at 70 percent, struck 10 aces, and did not face a single break point while prevailing in one hour and 36 minutes. He was an entirely different player from the one who had lost to Casper Ruud 6-1, 7-5 on Monday.
“I surprised myself,” Alcaraz admitted. “The way that I played today from the baseline, with my serve. I was really calm. I just tried to be focused on my game and what I had to do and forget about that I’m not feeling well and that I’m sick.
“Once you step on the court, you have to forget everything–your struggles outside the court–and you try to put your focus on hitting a good forehand, a good backhand, and making good tactics against the opponent. I thought I did that pretty well.”
The world No. 3 will face Alexander Zverev on Friday. Qualification scenarios for the semifinals will depend on the outcome between Zverev and Ruud on Wednesday night.
nice one, Carlos