Carlos Alcaraz will perform at Madison Square Garden

The season of Carlos Alcaraz has been marked by ups and downs so far. The former world number 1 won the Indian Wells Masters 1000 and achieved excellent results during the summer – winning the Roland Garros and the Wimbledon Championships – followed by some very disappointing defeats.

After losing the final of the Olympic Games in Paris Unpleasant Novak Djokovicthe young Spaniard showed a very negative tennis performance on both Cincinnati Masters 1000 and the US OpenDuring the last Grand Slam tournament of the season, the 21-year-old from Murcia was defeated in three sets-0 by Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in the iconic Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The four-time Grand Slam champion was very disappointed at the end of that match and admitted that he still had a lot of mental work to do. Despite winning two Majors and a Masters 1000 in 2024, Carlitos is more than 4,000 points away from Jannik Sinner in the ATP rankings. The consistency of the Italian ace is what makes the difference at the moment and the Spaniards will have to train to improve in this. No one doubts the qualities of Alcaraz, who has an insane repertoire for a player of his age, but the ups and downs are still too numerous to be able to return to the top of the ATP rankings.

Carlitos will play for the MSG

Carlitos plays the Davis Cup this week before we head to Berlin for the 2024 edition of the Laver cup (where his compatriot will also perform Rafael Nadal). Meanwhile, it was just announced that the former world number 1 will play a practice match against Ben Shelton at the Madison Square Garden in New York on December 4. In the same event, American star Jessica Pegula will compete against Emma Navarro.

JUST ANNOUNCED: Tennis returns to The Garden on December 4th with The Garden Cup featuring matches between Carlos Alcaraz vs. Ben Shelton and Jessica Pegula vs. Emma Navarro. Pre-sale access to tickets for the venue begins tomorrow, Friday, September 13th at 10am ET with code SOCIAL. photo.twitter.com/sa2fFWwkNu

— MSG (@TheGarden) September 12, 2024

On his official Instagram account, top coach Patrick Mouratoglou revealed Alcaraz’s biggest problem at this point in his career: “He was putting everything on the line, mentally, emotionally, naturally, physically and tennis-wise, to win them, because it mattered so much. And when it matters so much to you, emotionally, it’s exhausting. He was exhausted, mentally exhausted.

He is very, very emotional. We have seen him cramp many times. If you look at Roger, Rafa, Novak, have you seen them cramp once in a game? In their whole career? He cramped many times, only at 20. He is an emotional player. So I think knowing that, in the future they have to come up with a calendar where he has enough rest – mental rest, not physical rest – mental rest. I think it’s very important for his future.”

The Spanish ace will try to end his 2024 on a high note, although he has often struggled in this part of the season. The former world number 1 does not show his best tennis on the indoor hardcourt and his body often struggles in the last months of the year. In his last piece on ‘El Pais’, top coach Toni Nadal reflected on Alcaraz’s status and the recent rise of Jannik Sinner: “With Sinner’s victory in the men’s category, we can also give more credit than ever to what was already a clear rivalry with our great champion, Carlos Alcaraz.

With Sunday’s victory, Sinner won his second major of the year, equaled the Spanish player’s annual record and practically assured himself that he would end the year as world No. 1. If I may return to Alcaraz, since he is the one we care about, I must say that I still enjoy his game more – I like him even more, but I also admit and fear that the current leader’s notorious improvement, especially on the mental level, will make it really difficult for him. The rivalry is certainly served.”

Some points to defend

The current world number 3 is almost two years younger than Sinner and will try to become the youngest ever to win 5 Majors at the upcoming Australian Open. Carlos will have to recharge his batteries during the off-season and find a way to be more consistent during the season.

Jannik showed incredible consistency in 2024, losing just five matches in the entire season and making the difference on the hard court. Alcaraz will also have to limit the number of accidents, which have particularly affected him in the first months of 2024. The Spanish ace won’t have to defend many points in the coming monthssince last year he has not shone after losing the final in Cincinnati against Novak Djokovic. His best results were the semi-final in Beijing and the semi-final at the ATP Finals in Turin, which he lost to Djokovic.