Carlos Alcaraz’s run at the Rolex Paris Masters has already ended in the round of 16. The young Spanish champion – who confirmed his poor feeling with the last Masters 1000 of the season – was defeated in three sets by local idol Ugo Humbert. The French player – who could play without having anything to lose and was supported by the crowd – certainly played a great match deserving of victory, but the level of Carlitos was really too discontinuous.
Carlos Alcaraz, Paris Masters 2024© Stream screenshot
The four-time Grand Slam champion committed a lot of unforced errors in the first set, before raising his level in the second half of the match but without ever making a real difference. These particularly fast pitches do not fit well with his style of play, as we saw in the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati this summer.
For this reason, the 21-year-old from Murcia will likely be the third favorite at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. The world number 1 Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev seem to have something more than himself on this surface, although it will be necessary to see how Alcaraz will adapt to those conditions. The current world number 2 struggled last year in Turin, but reached the semi-finals losing out to Novak Djokovic.
Room for improvement
The feeling is that – when the match goes bad and the day is negative – Alcaraz has a lot of trouble finding solutions and following the instructions of his coach. Juan Carlos Ferrero seems to be struggling to help Carlitos through difficult times and the feeling between the two could even crack if the former world number 1 does not manage to eliminate all these ups and downs.
Despite winning two Grand Slam titles in 2024, the Spaniard was very uneven throughout the season, especially in the Masters 1000. Unlike him, Jannik Sinner made a difference in the ATP rankings thanks to his incredible consistency. The Italian ace has suffered only six defeats in the whole year and reached at least the quarter-finals in all tournaments he played.
Alcaraz and Sinner© @lorenzofares X account
In a recent interview with ‘La Stampa’, Sinner explained the differences between him and Alcaraz: “Alcaraz and I are two very different players. I keep the pace very high, I’m mentally strong. He is physically strong and tennis-wise he has something more at the moment. He plays slice and volleys better, but for me it’s positive. It means I have room to improve.
Carlos is outstanding on the court… drop shots, passing shots, lobs, great volleys. I don’t know if I’ll ever be like that. As a tennis player I’m solid and when needed I can hit the winner. We both bring out the best in the important points. Carlos is similar to Nadal, he presses from the first point and runs a lot. He knows how to turn on the crowd. I am calmer, colder, but I can get h*t too. Sometimes it’s good to get nervous and yell at the team, to step out of the box for a moment and then get back into it. You can do it if you have people you trust around you.”
Carlitos wants to shine in Turin
No one is able to reach the peaks of the 21 year old from Murcia, who will have to be good at finding the right balance to not lose concentration and consistency during the year. The four-time Grand Slam champion has achieved one of the most difficult achievements in tennis by winning Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year, but his distance from Jannik in the ATP ranking shows that there is still room for improvement. If he wins the 2025 Australian Open, the Spanish champion would become the youngest player ever to win five Grand Slam titles.
Carlos Alcaraz & Ugo Humbert, Paris Masters 2024© Stream screenshot
After his match against Humbert in Bercy, the world number 2 explained that he still had to improve a lot under certain conditions: “It is very difficult to play in these conditions. For me, for my level, I try to change up as much as I can to this court, to this speed. I thought that it suits my game pretty well, but it doesn’t.
When I play against someone like Ugo that he doesn’t let you, you know, get rhythm into the match, he plays probably, every time at his 100%, really flat. So I couldn’t play good tennis. You know, I practice at home but it isn’t the same… So I’m not surprised about my level, about my game, but I’m surprised about everything a little bit.” Meanwhile, MARCA announced that a surface very similar to the Nitto ATP Finals and Davis Cup Finals has been installed at the Ferrero Tennis Academy.