Carlos Alcaraz will return to competition this week after overcoming physical discomfort that prevented him from participating in the Basel ATP (Switzerland)“a problem with the plantar fascia of the left foot and muscle fatigue in the lumbar area of the back.”
The 20-year-old tennis player from Murcia, world No. 2, continued his circuit activity in the last Masters 1,000 it is from time, Paris-Bercy (France)indoor hard court tournament, the same conditions of Alcaraz’s next and final challenge in 2023, the ATP Finals in Turin (Italy, November 12-19).
Paris will award 1,000 points to the champion and Turin will award a top prize of 1,500 for a potential undefeated ‘master’. The Spanish player has the ground to try to finish the year as world number 1, as he faces his last two events of the year on 500 points. Novak Djokovic.
Alcaraz still has options to get past the Serbian France, as long as he wins the title and Djokovic doesn’t reach the final or is a finalist and ‘Nole’ doesn’t reach the quarterfinal round. However, the final battle for that important goal will focus on the Turin Masters where the eight best rackets of the season will compete.
In Paris the last three places for Turin will be decided where Djokovic, Alcaraz, the Russian have already got the ticket Daniel Medvedevthe Italian Jannik Sinner and the Russian Andrey Rublev. Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev and Holger Rune temporarily occupy those three places, but they must confirm them in Paris in the face of the threat of chasers such as Hubert Hurkacz, Taylor Fritz or Casper Ruud.
Unconcerned about that guerilla war, Alcaraz will focus on his own path with the aim of scoring the highest possible points in his final match with Djokovic who is at stake in the 2023 world number 1. Exempted in the 1st round as the second seed, know that of the man from Murcia who he will face first in Paris-Bercy, the Russian. Roman Safiullinfrom the previous episode, which surpassed the Frenchman this Monday Alexandre Muller by 7-6 (4) and 6-3.
Safiullin, 26 years old, is experiencing his best season, his confirmation in the world top-100 (this week he occupies the 45th place) after climbing the positions in recent years like an ant from when he jumped to the pros in 2015: 498th ( 2017 ), 332nd (2018), 255th (2019), 182nd (2020), 167th (2021) and 88th (2022) .
Champion in February of the challenger Koblenzhis unexpected entry into the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon, where he was stopped by Sinner, his most notable result of the season. Last month he played his first final ATP in Chengdu (China) after defeating Brandon Nakashima, Daniel Evans, Jordan Thompson and Lorenzo Musetti.
Alexander Zverev This deprived him of breaking his record, but the Russian won the first set (6-7, 7-6, 6-3) and, two weeks later, he clearly managed to defeat the German (6-3, 6- 1). ) before crashing before Ben Shelton (3-6, 6-3, 6-4) in the 3rd round of Shanghai Masters 1,000.
If Alcaraz and the other favorites go through the rounds, the Murcian could find himself Karen Khachanov (eighth), Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev (quarters) and Daniel Medvedev, Casper Ruud either Hubert Hurkacz (semifinals). He will only be matched against Djokovic in a hypothetical final.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
