Carlos Alcaraz returns this year to Australian Open, first Grand Slam of the season, after his absence in 2023 due to injury. Therefore, he will not defend points this time. Although the majority of tennis players have started the year by participating in one of the tournaments that are held previously to gain sensations, The Murcian coaching staff has chosen to go directly and only play a couple of exhibition matches next week. that TennisAustralia is going to organize, although they will be against important rivals.
The El Palmar player finished last year with two exhibition matches. The first of them was won against Novak Djokovic in Riyadh, and the second was a repeat victory, although on that occasion in Murcia against Roberto Bautista. Now he will have two other matches of the same nature, which will be held on Wednesday the 10th and Friday the 12th. The first will be against the Australian Alex de Minaur, world number 12, and the second, against the Norwegian Casper Ruud (11).
Alcaraz, who has had an intense preseason where he has also had the opportunity to train with Jannik Sinner, will travel this Saturday the 6th to Victoria to begin training on Monday the 8th on the same courts where the Australian Open will be held between the 14th and on January 28. Coach Samuel López, who will replace Juan Carlos Ferrero, who has recently undergone surgery for a knee problem, and physiotherapist Juanjo Moreno will be the two people who initially accompany him.
The draw for the first Grand Slam of the year will be held, in principle, on Thursday the 11th. He will appear as the second seed, so he will go on the opposite side of Djokovic’s draw. It will be next Monday the 8th when the points from the tournaments being held this week will be added, when the players who will start as seeds will be known and the rivals that Alcaraz will have could be defined when the rounds begin to enter the sixteenths of final. It seems that there may be few significant changes and it is clear that Alcaraz could not meet Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner, numbers three and four, until the semifinals. Between positions seven and ten some variations can occur. The main threat in first rounds is Rafael Nadal, who will enter the table without ranking and with a guest spot by the organization.
In addition, it will be necessary to take into account at the Australian Open that this year there are variations in points depending on the round reached. The most significant are found after the quarterfinals, where before 360 points were added and now 400. In the semifinals the score goes from 720 to 800, and for being a finalist, from 1,200 to 1,300. The winner, as always, will earn 2,000 points.
2024-01-04 08:41:37
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