By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday November 12, 2024

Carlos Alcaraz is hoping that he can get healthy in time to make an impact on this year’s ATP Finals, and his quest begins tomorrow with a second round robin match with Andrey Rublev in Turin.

A 6-1, 7-5 loser to Casper Ruud in his first match at the ATP Finals, Alcaraz admitted afterwards that he was not feeling 100 percent.

“A few days before coming here, I got sick at home,” he said. “And yeah, the days that I was practicing here, I was feeling okay. Not pretty good, but okay. I could play. I could feel that I can get into the rallies in the practice. Obviously, in the matches is totally different.

“But today I didn't feel well. In this morning, I feel uncomfortable in the stomach. After long rallies today, I couldn't feel well. I don't want to say because I don't want to sound like an excuse. But if I feel bad, I feel bad. It is what happened today.”



In addition to illness, Alcaraz is fighting a few other issues. First, he’s wearing the fatigue of another long season in a pressure-packed Olympic year that has seen him contest 64 matches, with more to come.

“I dare to say that every player are tired mentally,” he said on Monday. “If someone says that he is fresh, he is lying. Some players deal with it better than others. I'm tired. I'm tired mentally. Obviously a lot of matches, really tight schedule, really demanding year with not too many days off.”

Alcaraz is just expressing the reality of the tour – it’s a grind for any player who is taking their place in the ATP Finals this week, not just him. Alcaraz, still just 21, says he needs to learn about his body and how to manage the fatigue better.



“Since the beginning of the year you're accumulating hours, days. You come into this part of year tired,” he said. “As I said many, many times, I think this year I'm much better than last year, but I have to find the way to perform and deliver good tennis [while] being tired mentally,” he said.

Alcaraz also admits that he needs to become a better player indoors. He is 23-11 lifetime under a roof with zero titles, compared to 184-44 outdoors and 16 titles. His main rival Jannik Sinner, meanwhile, is 68-21 indoors with six titles.

“I don't feel that I'm a bad player indoors,” Alcaraz said. “Probably I'm going to say a lot of players are better than me on indoor court.

“I'll be a really good player on indoor courts, I'm sure about it. But I think it's about time, about getting experience, getting matches in my back, hitting on indoor courts.”