Carlos Alcaraz - without preparation for the Australian Open?
Carlos Alcaraz is still missing from the entry lists for the early tournaments in Australia. Will he come to the Australian Open without preparation?
by Anja Richter
last edit: Dec 11, 2021, 11:27 am
In November, Carlos Alcaraz won the #NextGen Finals in Milan in an outstanding manner, which took place in the week before the “real” ATP Finals in Turin. The huge favorite more than lived up to expectations. No. 32 in the world rankings relegated his U-21 competitors Sebastian Korda , Jenson Brooksby and Lorenzo Musetti to their places and at the end of the season underpinned his status as the great hope in men's tennis.
After the end of the long ATP tour, the 18-year-old exceptional talent should compete in the Davis Cup for Spain in Madrid. It is well known that nothing came of it. He tested positive for Covid-19 in the preparation phase and had to withdraw from the tournament. Since then it has become quiet around him.
And this silence seems to continue.
Nadal reported for Melbourne, Alcaraz not
For one thing, the Spanish team did not nominate him for the ATP Cup (January 1-9). The nomination runs strictly according to the world rankings. “Carlitos” should therefore belong to the team as the third individual (some also put it pejoratively: substitute) player. Instead, he is now being replaced by 33-year-old Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who is in 45th place and who lost to Alexander Zverev in the second round of this year's US Open in just under an hour and has hardly won a match since then.
On the other hand, he is not registered for one of the parallel 250 preparation tournaments in Adelaide or Melbourne. Some well-known players, including Rafael Nada l, are registered there instead of the team competition. But, as I said, his name is also missing on these registration lists. This is surprising and a little cause for concern. Because why shouldn't he use the opportunity to prepare for the first Grand Slam tournament of the year?
In the following week, the same 250 tournaments will take place again. Perhaps the “young Nadal” would just like to enjoy the holidays a week longer and will travel “down under” a week later. Let's hope that is the case and that he is after his Covid-19 infection.