AS newspaper called the end of the year "dark months" for Carlos Alcaraz when the Spanish tennis player often appeared tired and had a decline in performance.
As much as Alcaraz delighted fans with the announcement that he would be participating in the Paris Masters 1000, he saddened them with his defeat in the second round. The quick defeat to Roman Safiullin in two sets (3-6, 4-6) continued the disappointment from the Shanghai Masters, where the Spanish star was eliminated in the fourth round after losing to Bulgarian player Grigor Dimitrov.
Alcaraz was disappointed after losing to Roman Safiullin in the second round of the Paris Masters 2023 on November 1. Photo: AFP
After 73 fights in 2023, Alcaraz appeared tired in October, November, and December. But this happened exactly the same way in the last two years.
In 2021, his first full year at the top of the game, Alcaraz shone at the Vienna Open - an ATP 500 tournament, where he reached the semi-finals before losing to Alexander Zverev. But Alcaraz was soon eliminated in the round of 16 of the Paris Masters 1000. The Spaniard defeated Jannik Sinner in the second round before losing to Frenchman Hugo Gaston.
Soon after, Alcaraz rose to prominence at the ATP Next Gen - a tournament for U21 players - with a perfect record and the championship. However, as a result, he could not participate in the Davis Cup Finals with the Spanish team, due to Covid-19.
In 2022, Alcaraz won the US Open, thereby owning the first Grand Slam of his career, but then declined shortly after, right in October.
At the Astana Open, he was eliminated in the first round by Belgian David Goffin. At the end of October 2022, Alcaraz attended the Swiss Indoors in Basel, Switzerland, where he was defeated in the semi-finals by third seed Félix Auger-Aliassime. At the Paris Masters also in November, Alcaraz lost to Holger Rune in the quarter-finals. Worse, this defeat also caused him to suffer an injury, which forced him to miss the ATP Finals and Davis Cup Finals.
According to AS , Alcaraz's poor form at the end of the year shows that he does not have enough physical strength and skill to compete in top-level tennis throughout a long season. "This is something he must improve soon if he wants to reach the top," the Spanish daily commented. This year, Alcaraz has one last chance at the ATP Finals to break the curse.
Hieu Do
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