WATCH: Carlos Alcaraz receives the year-end No. 1 trophy at the ATP Finals, commits to fight and stay at the top like the Big-4
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Carlos Alcaraz with the Year-End No. 1 trophy- IMAGO / Nicolo Campo
Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest man ever to finish a season as the World No. 1 despite being absent from the 2022 ATP Finals. Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas both stood a chance to dethrone the teenager from the top but it was meant for Alcaraz owing to his brilliant season this year.
Tsitsipas’ defeat in his first round-robin match against Novak Djokovic ended his chances of reaching the top of the rankings. Nadal suffered back-to-back straight-set defeats that ruled him out of contention for the semi-final spot ensuring Alcaraz will be at the top of the rankings for the remainder of the season.
Alcaraz did not make the trip to Turin initially after suffering an abdominal injury during the 2022 Paris Masters and withdrew from the ATP Finals. He was however destined to travel to the city as he was presented with the trophy for finishing as the year-end no. 1.
“It means a lot to me. I mean, to get this trophy, the world No 1, to be part of tennis history along with a lot of legends, for me is an amazing feeling. I’m a little bit disappointed to not be able to play here in the Nitto Final. I really wanted to play here. I mean, these kinds of things can happen in tennis life,” said Alcaraz addressing the crowd at the Finals.
Speaking with the press later, Alcaraz said, “I want to win more tournaments and more Grand Slams. To continue like this, the most difficult thing is to stay. I want to be in this position much longer. This is unbelievable, but it is what I have worked for so long. This shows the level that they [Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, and Murray] have offered compared to the others.”
Carlos Alcaraz gives an update on his comeback and plans for the next season
Alcaraz was the winner at the NextGen Finals last year and with his results this year, all eyes were on him if he could win the Year-End Championships as well. But the unfortunate injury in Paris ruled him out. While he admitted that he could have pushed his body but he didn’t want to take any risk as the season was coming to an end.
Speaking about his rehab, Alcaraz said, “It is going really well. It is going really fast, as well. I’m really focused on recovering as soon as possible. But I could say in a week we improve a lot. I’m going to say at the beginning of the season, I’m going to be ready, I’m going to be 100 percent. The first weeks after the injury it is really important to don’t stop.”
Continuing further, Alcaraz added, “That’s what I did during the week and a half that I spent, it was with a lot of exercises. Right now I have some days off, some holidays, to disconnect a little bit, to take a rest. But after that I am focused on the pre-season, I’m focused on improving, starting the Australian Open as best as I can.”
The World No. 1 also informed of his plan to not play in any event before the 2023 Australian Open where he will be the guaranteed top seed and also the reigning Grand Slam champion having won the 2022 US Open. The plan is however subject to change depending on how well he recovers in the coming weeks.
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Sarthak Shitole
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