Carlos Alcaraz’s season certainly cannot be considered negative, having won two Grand Slam titles and a Masters 1000 at Indian Wells. The Spanish champion has achieved one of the most difficult achievements in this sport, becoming the youngest ever to win the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships in the same year.
Ugo Humbert & Carlos Alcaraz, Paris Masters 2024© Stream screenshot
As if that wasn’t enough, the 21-year-old from Murcia also won silver at the Paris Olympics and ATP 500 in Beijing by defeating his great rival Jannik Sinner at the end of one of the most spectacular finals of the entire season. Although he beat the Italian ace three times in as many matches in 2024, Carlitos is very far from Jannik in the ATP ranking due to the greater consistency of the latter. The world’s number 1 has suffered just six losses since January, while the Spanish has not been as brilliant at some points of the season.
It is true that Alcaraz was very brilliant in the Grand Slam tournaments, except for the US Open (where he was eliminated in the first week), but he failed to maintain the same level in the Masters 1000 by suffering several premature eliminations. Unlike him, Sinner has reached at least the quarterfinals in all tournaments he played in 2024.
Many unexpected defeats
If we analyze the results of Carlitos in the Masters 1000, the verdict is not so positive for the former number 1 in the world. The 21-year-old from Murcia won his second straight title at Indian Wells, but did not hold the same level in the next 1000s. In Miami he stopped in the quarterfinals against Grigor Dimitrov, while he had to miss the Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo and Rome due to an forearm injury.
Alcaraz showed up in Madrid far from the top of form still feeling pain in his forearm, which is why he gave in to Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals. The Spaniard missed out on the Montreal Masters 1000 after the Paris Olympics before being eliminated in the second round in Cincinnati by Gael Monfils.
Tomas Machac was his executioner in the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 in Shanghai, when fans and organizers were already looking forward to a new clash with Sinner. Finally, Carlos was defeated by Ugo Humbert in the last 16 of the Rolex Paris Masters yesterday.
Carlos Alcaraz, Paris Masters 2024© Stream screenshot
While in the Grand Slam tournaments his winning rate was almost 85% this year, in the Masters 1000 he stopped at a little bright 75%. In addition, it should be remembered that Alcaraz won only one Masters 1000 in 2024 (whereas he had won two both in 2022 and 2023).
Carlitos’ admission
Despite having a great season, Carlitos himself admitted that Sinner was superior to him this year: “It doesn’t matter that I have beaten Jannik three times. Probably I didn’t play good tennis in some tournaments. You know, my percentage of win this year is really, really high, but Jannik is at another level this year. Over the 91 per-cent of wins this year. So just few players have done this before.
I think every players are looking to be more consistent during the year. In every tournament that you’re going to play, you want to go far or as farther as you can. That’s my goal the next year. In the tournaments that I didn’t play well or I didn’t go as far as I wanted, just try to do it. I will try to not lose in the first rounds that probably this year I have lost in the first rounds.”
Sinner and Alcaraz© @giovannipelazzo X account
The four-time Grand Slam champion will have two big goals in the last part of the season: the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin and the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga. The current world number 2 will be arriving in Turin very soon and will have to get used to the conditions, which are not ideal for his style of play. Last year, Alcaraz lost in the semifinals to Novak Djokovic but overall he didn’t play a great tournament.
The Spanish ace will also be surpassed by Alexander Zverev in second place if the German champion reaches the final of the Rolex Paris Masters. Sascha defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas today in the quarterfinals and a single victory separates him from a very important goal.
The German is much more effective than Alcaraz on these courts, also thanks to its excellent serve. It’s no coincidence that Zverev already won in Turin in 2021, when he defeated Nole Djokovic in the semifinals and Daniil Medvedev in the finals. If he drops to third place in the ATP ranking, Carlos may have to face Sinner already in the group stage in Turin.