'Carlos Alcaraz will have to defend this status', says expert

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Carlos Alcaraz had a simply formidable season, in which he proved to be a potential phenomenon. The 19-year-old Spaniard won the US Open, becoming the youngest number 1 in the history of men's tennis. His ride in New York has left everyone speechless, causing many insiders to indicate him as the future ruler of men's tennis. 'Carlitos' embellished his year by also winning two Masters 1000 (Miami and Madrid) and as many ATP 500 (Rio and Barcelona). The performance of the young Iberian dropped slightly in the last part of the season, also thanks to some injuries. Juan Carlos Ferrero's protégé had a knee problem and pulled his abs during the Paris-Bercy Masters 1000. That setback prevented him from playing the ATP Finals in Turin and the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga. The Murciano, who will be engaged in the Abu Dhabi exhibition from 16 to 18 December, will not play official tournaments before the 2023 Australian Open.

Kuhnen reflects on Alcaraz

Patrick Kuhnen, former 43rd in the world, consultant for Sky Sport in Germany but also director of the Munich tournament, kindly made predictions for 2023. According to him, if Nadal, Djokovic will be there, he has a real fear about the current world number 1, Carlos Alcaraz. “The Spaniard starts the new season as world number one, and he will have to defend this status. We can therefore think that there is a risk that this position could turn into a burden, especially at the mental level. Afterwards, he is well surrounded so this should allow him to take on this challenge with more confidence. Despite everything, it seems logical that he will have to face difficult passages in 2023." Matteo Berrettini has praised Carlos Alcaraz for taking his chances in the 2022 season to rise to the top of the men's game. "It feels unbelievable if you think about it, what he [Carlos Alcaraz] achieved in such a short time. I remember playing him in Australia at the beginning of the year and I played him Rio as well, and I felt he is a great player but what he did is still impressive for his age. The physicality he already has and everything, also mentally it’s not easy to deal with everything that he dealt with, so it’s impressive," Berrettini said. "At the same time we know that tennis it’s really tough, but it’s not impossible, we all know we can play our best tennis, I have to say it was a weird year with Novak not playing most of the slams, it was kind of a little weird. But Carlos deserves the world No. 1," he expressed.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/ZHoGxL0

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