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Former players Sam Querrey and John Isner discussed whether the ATP Finals has become Carlos Alcaraz's Achilles heel, like it did for Rafael Nadal. Alcaraz reclaimed his top rank amid the Turin event but fell to Jannik Sinner in the title run.
Carlos Alcaraz has been dominating on all surfaces, and despite admitting that clay is his least favorite, he has won the French Open title twice. The Spaniard catapulted himself to No. 1 after he triumphed at the US Open this year, but lost the top rank to his arch-rival Sinner after the latter won the Paris Masters.
At the ATP Finals, the six-time Grand Slam winner didn't lose a match in the group stage and faced Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semifinals. He trounced the Canadian and played Jannik Sinner in the finals, but failed to better the Italian.
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Discussing the Spaniard’s luck and trajectory in Turin, former players Sam Querrey and John Isner talked about whether the year-end event is his Achilles’ heel, much like it was for Rafael Nadal.
Isner asked:
"Do you think this event, specifically the year-end could potentially be an Achilles heel for Carlos kind of like it was for Rafa? Rafa never won this event throughout his whole career. Is this something that especially you got to imagine if Sinner is in the field and healthy, is this something that could take a little while or that for Alcaraz to finally win this event?"
Querrey agreed to a certain extent but also mentioned that the Spaniard doesn't care about the ATP Finals as much as he does about the Grand Slams.
"Possibly. Maybe not like a Rafa, or he never wins it. I can see Alcaraz maybe only winning it like one or two times. At the end of the day, it's all about the grand slams. It's not about the year-end final. The generic tennis fans, if you're just watching stuff, the question is always, 'How many grand slams did you win?' I don't even know right now if I just asked you guys, oh, 'How many year-end championships did Pete Sampras win, or did Novak win, or did Federer win? You can kind of guess, but you don't really know. You know the number of slams," he said.
He added:
"So for Alcaraz, that's what he cares about. And even, watching the final here, it did look like Sinner's mental was a little more locked in than Alcaraz's. Alcaraz already won his two slams this year. He already locked up the year number one. Of course, he wanted to win this tournament, but I don't think it was as important to him.."
Carlos Alcaraz will next compete at the 2025 Davis Cup before calling an end to his season.
Carlos Alcaraz predicted who would win a dream Wimbledon final between him and Roger Federer
Carlos Alcaraz has been a dominant force on the ATP Tour, and he and Sinner are often compared to the Big Three — Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic. The Spaniard admitted that Federer would likely triumph if they played each other in a dream Wimbledon final.
"These are different eras but I'd say Federer," Alcaraz ahead of the ATP Finals match-up
Carlos Alcaraz has reportedly undergone an MRI to examine his injury more closely before he enters the Davis Cup.
