Carlos Alcaraz Reveals His Clay Schedule Plans after Monte Carlo Final Defeat

Carlos Alcaraz lost his World No.1 position to Jannik Sinner after losing in the Monte Carlo Masters final on Sunday (April 12). The Spaniard needed to defend the title but fell to an in-form Sinner at the Country Club. However, he’s already prepared to return to the court at the Barcelona Open this week.

By this time last year, Alcaraz had just won his first Monte Carlo Masters, but he suffered from significant fatigue at the Barcelona Open. This season, he wasn’t at his best at the Sunshine Double – reaching the semi-finals of the Indian Wells Open before losing to Daniil Medvedev and falling to Sebastian Korda in Miami.

He had almost two weeks to prepare for the Monte Carlo Masters, while Sinner had just less than a week. However, that didn’t matter much in the end as Sinner gave a masterclass display against Alcaraz. He won the first set after a tiebreak but then cruised past the Australian Open champion in the second set.

The victory ensures that Sinner returns to the World No.1 after over six months. However, with just less than 115 points gap Alcaraz can reclaim the top spot by winning the Barcelona Open. He reached the final of the ATP 500 last year before losing to Holger Rune, which means he has 330 points to defend.

Should Alcaraz win the Barcelona Open, he will reclaim the No.1 position with just less than ten points lead over Sinner. During the post-match press conference in Monte Carlo, he stressed that he aims to play in five main tournaments this clay season, while hoping his body doesn’t break down in the process:

The main goal is to play the full clay season calendar. It was the goal last year as well, and unfortunately, I couldn’t because of an injury. So we’re touching good and praying that nothing is going to happen to my body. So I’m going to heal my body much better than last year for sure.If I’m going to skip one, I will skip one tournament. If my body stays healthy, I’m going to do whatever it takes to be healthy and take care of my body.

Alcaraz isn’t at his best on the court yet and he understands that. He played brilliantly at the Monte Carlo Masters before the final, but his level was inconsistent in his display especially in the second set. It was only against Alexander Bublik in the quarter-finals that he began to show dominance on the court. Perhaps, the Barcelona Open will give him the perfect rhythm.

Carlos Alcaraz says he’s in better physical shape this year than last season

Some analysts have suggested that Carlos Alcaraz skips the Barcelona Open and then returns to the court at the Madrid Open next week. The reason for that is that the Spaniard didn’t play at the tournament last year due to injury and if he focuses on the Madrid Open, he might have a chance of returning to World No.1.

Also, it will give him the needed rest to compete in Madrid, Rome, and the French Open. However, winning the Barcelona Open and the Madrid Open will see him earn 1,120 points. But that may force him to miss the Italian Open, which he won last year. During the aforementioned interview, he admitted that he’s better physically than last year:

Let’s see how it’s going to be in the next weeks. I don’t know how it’s going to be — the matches, if I’m going to win matches, if I’m going to lose in the first rounds, if the matches are going to be super demanding physically or not. So I don’t know how it’s going to be. But what I can tell right now is I will heal my body much better than last year for sure.

Alcaraz will open his campaign at the Barcelona Open against Finland’s Otto Virtanen in the second round. Andrey Rublev, Jack Draper, and Alex de Minaur are in the same half of his draw at the tournament.

Also Read: Thomas Enqvist Shares Plans for Matteo Berrettini After the Italian’s Resurgence in Monte Carlo

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