Alcaraz, declared enemy No. 1 in the Paris Masters 1000 ATP

Carlos Alcaraz He lived through one of his worst experiences on the tennis court during the ATP Masters 1000 in Paris, in his debut in the 2021 edition ‘inside’ the French capital.

The Murcian screamed at the inferno that stood against him. This is not support for locale Hugo Gastonbut harassment and demolition by a very young, inexperienced, player. Alcaraz lost 6-4 and 7-5. It was 2021.

He arrived in different conditions in his new match in the round of 16 against a French player, which meant having the fans against him. He has many more draws as the current champion, in addition, of Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

Although he will be wary of an event where luck has always eluded him, at least until now. In 2022 he retired due to a muscle injury in the quarterfinals against the Dane Holger Rune. In 2023, in the midst of a performance crisis, he gave up on the French from the start Romain Safiullin.

In 2024, he was able to reach the end of the season in better physical shape and clearer mentally. He opened the victory against the Chilean Nicholas Jarrythis Thursday he will face the French No. 1 at the moment, the left-hander Ugo Humbert, who prepared the duel by defeating the American Marcos Giron 6-3 and 6-2.

Alcaraz feels strong, with an open chance as the draw invites it, especially if the ill Jannik Sinner is not with him and the Russian is left out. Daniel Medvedeva former champion of the event who was assumed to be his opponent in the semifinals. The Muscovite did not beat the Australian Alexei Popyrin.

The fans could be another obstacle to overcome since they have been the number one opponent since their meeting with Ugo Humbert, 26 years old and world number 18.

But Alcaraz showed how to deal with an internal specialist like Humbert, whom he recently defeated in Davis Cupin Valencia, 6-3 and 6-3. He also got better in his first confrontation, this year Wimbledon, eighth, 6-3, 6-4, 1-6 and 7-5.