The Spaniard valued his victory against Andrey Rublev
Carlos Alcaraz wanted to give himself the opportunity, and trying it was a good idea. Despite having been ill for several days, the Spaniard added his first victory in this edition of the Nitto ATP Finals this Wednesday by beating Andrey Rublev 6-3, 7-6(8). The victory allows the champion of four Grand Slam titles to stay in the fight to be in the semifinals, with a very clear stop to achieve it: on Friday, Alcaraz will face Alexander Zverev in a dog-face match that could be key .
“The truth is that I am very happy with the level I have shown,” Alcaraz started. “It has been a very high level, despite how I feel. I thought that against someone like Rublev, who hits the ball very hard and dominates from behind, I wasn’t going to feel at all well, but I felt better than expected, enduring long exchanges and being able to run and play a good game. from the back of the track,” celebrated the 22-year-old. “It was a very solid game. I needed it and it gives me a lot of confidence going into the last Friday, which will be complicated. My chances of qualifying are there, so we are going to go for it.”
On Tuesday, Alcaraz was forced to suspend his training five minutes after starting as a result of the respiratory problems he has been dealing with for days. Despite taking antibiotics, the man from Murcia did not feel significant enough improvement to be able to practice and went to the hotel to continue recovering against the clock.
On Wednesday morning, and with a pink nose strip to help him breathe better, Alcaraz completed a good warm-up that left him on the launch pad before the match against Rublev, in which he felt decent.
“My stomach has been improving these days, but with the cold, nose and chest, I don’t see much improvement,” Alcaraz confessed. “As I said, the fact of trying to forget a little to show the best tennis I have in the current conditions has helped me. I continue to hope to improve as the days go by. Let’s see if I feel better on Friday,” the Spaniard continued. “And if I don’t feel better, I will try to show a good level regardless of how I am.”
On Friday, Alcaraz will meet again with Zverev, with whom he has tied his Lexus ATP Head2Head series (5-5), although the last two meetings between the two have fallen on the Spaniard’s side.
“Obviously, I think I have to play at a high level to win,” he warned. “Tennis is a very mental sport and it is very important how you talk to yourself before matches. When I measure myself against the best, I tell myself that I have to play at a high level. I have a lot of confidence and that is very good for me to enter the track ready.”
Source: https://www.nittoatpfinals.com/es/news/nitto-atp-finals-2024-alcaraz-reacciones-miercoles
