Carlos Alcaraz will make his Cincinnati Masters 1000 debut during today’s evening round. The former world number one will face French veteran Gael Monfils for a spot in the round of 16 in Ohio, where he lost to Novak Djokovic in the final last year despite having one match point.
The young Spaniard has played a lot over the last two months, winning 20 of his last 22 outings. Carlitos won the French Open and Wimbledon Championships, with only two losses to Jack Draper at the Queen’s Club and Novak Djokovic in the final of the Paris Olympics.
The 21-year-old from Murcia, who missed the Montreal Masters 1000 last week, will utilise the Cincinnati tournament as preparation for the US Open 2024, which will be held in New York at the end of August. The four-time Grand Slam champion is the favourite at Flushing Meadows, where he won his first Major in 2022, but he will have to be wary of Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev, and Alexander Zverev.
If Carlitos wins the US Open, he will become the youngest tennis player to win five Grand Slam titles. These statistics demonstrate that Alcaraz possesses the potential to become one of the finest ever. According to the bookmakers, Carlos Alcaraz has a better chance of winning the 2024 US Open than Novak Djokovic or Jannik Sinner.
Rick Macci selects Carlitos
In a post on X, famed coach Rick Macci paid tribute to Alcaraz and Djokovic, writing, “The Spanish magician is my favourite to win the US Open.” The loss of the gold medal will add another layer of tenacity and grit, as well as an even stronger determination to never give up.
Nole is the greatest of all time and has always been rock solid. Today’s anointment is solid gold. One of the most mentally tough competitors in sports history.
He is in precious air that only goats can breathe, and he has added another gold nugget to his resume, raising the bar for every tennis player and athlete.
Last year, Alcaraz was eliminated in the semi-finals in New York, losing in four sets to a terrific Daniil Medvedev at the legendary Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Carlitos has a clear aim for the second half of the season: “I’m battling for first place in the race; that’s something I really want to do as soon as possible, and if I can do it in the future. This is a pretty important event, and a really fantastic tournament for me. So I’m going to try to play excellent tennis, try to play similar level that I was playing, and let’s see.”
The former world number one is going to attempt to raise his level even higher: ‘I’ve been playing great tennis, but probably most of the matches I won, I won them without playing great tennis, or I felt like I didn’t play really great tennis, So the way that I approach every match, I stay there strong mentally in some situations, I’m really, really happy about that’.
Alcaraz possesses clear ideas.
The four-time Grand Slam champion is currently training hard in Cincinnati and has bandages on both thighs. “I am also really pleased with my tennis and how I have handled various situations. I believe I’ve made significant improvement as a player, and I’m really pleased.
The season is far from done, and we must continue to give our all, yet I shall remember these months for the rest of my life. It was incredibly difficult; Roland Garros and Wimbledon were fantastic competitions. Perhaps I was physically affected by the pain that I had to endure. That’s probably why I needed more time to heal and do nothing, but I’m extremely pleased with my past three events,” the Spaniard said before his debut against Monfils in Cincinnati.
Alcaraz had an incredible experience partnering with 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal at the Paris Olympics. “It was definitely something I will never forget. I learnt a lot talking to him both on and off the court. Despite the fact that we are not used to playing doubles, I believe we played excellent tennis.
We were slightly disappointed at the end since we thought we could have done better, but overall we were pleased. And course, talking about myself, I achieved my ambition of playing doubles alongside Rafa,” Alcaraz remarked.
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