Ex-ATP Player Gives Verdict on ‘Listless’ Carlos Alcaraz’s ‘Complicated Relationship’ with Paris Masters After Exit
Carlos Alcaraz will next be participating at the ATP Finals, where he has yet to win a title.
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Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/We Are Tennis)
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Carlos Alcaraz, for the second time this year, crashed out of the opening round of a tournament. At the Paris Masters, Cameron Norrie came from a set down to knock him out. This marked Alcaraz’s third consecutive early-round exit in Paris. But on his second appearance in the tournament back in 2022, the Spaniard reached the quarterfinals.
Prior to this season, Alcaraz had never secured a title in an indoor hardcourt tournament, as earlier this year, he defeated Alex de Minaur to clinch the Rotterdam Open to win his first indoor hardcourt title. And this is why former ATP player Nicolas Escude thinks Alcaraz’s relationship with the Paris Masters is complicated. He said on Eurosport France:
We saw a borderline listless Alcaraz, complaining about the sensations he was having, exchanging long exchanges with his team members after losing the second set.
It was Alcaraz’s first match since his maiden Japan Open win. After beating Taylor Fritz in the Tokyo final, Alcaraz skipped the Shanghai Masters because of a wrist injury he suffered during his debut match in Tokyo. But Alcaraz participated in the Six Kings Slam exhibition event, where he, for the second consecutive time, lost to arch-rival Jannik Sinner.
He went against everything he’s been doing for the past few months. It’s surprising. But for the moment, his relationship with this tournament is complicated. Without taking credit away from Norrie, who played his match. He didn’t give much. He was a little shaky on his penultimate service game, but he finished very well.
Nicolas Escude added
Alcaraz will lose his No.1 ranking to Sinner if the four-time Grand Slam champion ends the Paris Masters in his favor. But Alcaraz will once again be at the top of the live rankings when the ATP Finals start because the World No.2 will lose ranking points as he will be playing the year-end championships as the defending champion.
Sinner, who is chasing his fifth title of the season, has reached the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters for the first time and will lock horns with America’s Ben Shelton. Alcaraz has yet to win the year-end final. He reached the semifinals on his maiden appearance in 2023 but failed to progress to the last four in 2024.
Carlos Alcaraz didn’t have any explanation after his Paris Masters defeat
Carlos Alcaraz felt good coming to Paris for the last Masters 1000 of the season. Following his exit, he was asked at the press conference whether he lacked the energy to play because the ATP season would soon end.
I don’t know. I came here really well. I came here with a lot of energy. I came here thinking that I could do good results because I have been playing really good tennis. This is the best year for me in terms of playing at the end of the year. So I’ve been talking with some other players, with my team, that I feel great.
Alcaraz is the winner of eight titles, which he clinched from 10 finals this year. Two of them are the Grand Slam ones he won by defeating Jannik Sinner at the French Open and the US Open. His Big Title count this season is five: two Majors and three ATP Masters 1000s in Monte Carlo, Rome, and Cincinnati.
The ATP Finals will start on November 18. Last year in the ATP Finals, the six-time Grand Slam champion lost to Casper Ruud, defeated Andrey Rublev, but succumbed to a straight-set defeat to Alexander Zverev. The 22-year-old has won 14 Big Titles in his career (six Majors and eight Masters 1000s).
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