Carlos Alcaraz wanted to give himself a chance, and it turned out to be worth the effort. Despite having been ill for several days, on Wednesday the Spaniard picked up his first win at this year’s Nitto ATP Finals, beating Andrey Rublev 6-3, 7-6(8). The victory keeps the four-time Grand Slam champion in the battle for the semi-finals, and he now knows exactly what he has to do to get there; on Friday Alcaraz will face Alexander Zverev in what promises to be a memorable scrap.
“I’m honestly very happy with the level I played,” began Alcaraz. “It was a very high level, despite how I’m feeling. I thought that against someone like Rublev, who hits the ball very hard and dominates from the back, that I wouldn’t feel great, but I felt better than expected, coping well with the long rallies and managing to run and play well from the baseline,” the 22-year-old noted happily. “It was a very solid match. I needed it and it gives me a lot of confidence for Friday, which will be tough. My chances of qualifying are still there, so we’re going to go all out.”
On Tuesday, Alcaraz was forced to stop practising after five minutes because of the breathing difficulties he has been dealing with for a few days. Despite having taken antibiotics, the Murcia native saw no significant change and left for his hotel without practising in order to try and recover in time for his match.
[ATP APP]On Wednesday morning, wearing a pink nose strip to help him breathe better, Alcaraz completed a good warm up in preparation for his clash with Rublev, during which he felt good.
“My stomach has been improving over the last few days, but in terms of the cold, my nose and chest, I can’t see much improvement,” admitted Alcaraz. “As I said, the fact that I tried not to think too much in order to try and play my best tennis in my current condition helped. I’m still hopeful I’ll improve as the days go by. Let’s see if I feel better on Friday,” continued the Spaniard. “And if I don’t feel better, I’ll still try and play at a good level.”
On Friday, Alcaraz will cross paths with Zverev, with whom he is level in their Lexus ATP Head2Head (5-5). The Spaniard, though, has won their last two battles.
”Obviously, I think I have to play at a great level to be able to win,” he said. “Tennis is a very mental sport and the way you talk to yourself before matches is very important. Again, when I face the best I have to play at a great level. I have a lot of confidence and that will help me be ready on court.”
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