Barely three weeks have passed since Carlitos Alcaraz writhed on the center court floor at Wimbledon after beating Novak Djokovic in five sets to win the second Grand Slam of his career start at just 20 years old. In less than a month, the man from El Palmar had time to rest for a few days at home, to play the Hopman Cup with Spain, to enjoy the holidays with his friends and to resume training. , first in Murcia then…

Barely three weeks have passed since Carlitos Alcaraz writhed on the center court floor at Wimbledon after beating Novak Djokovic in five sets to win the second Grand Slam of his career start at just 20 years old. In less than a month, the man from El Palmar had time to rest for a few days at home, to play the Hopman Cup with Spain, to enjoy the holidays with his friends and to resume training. , first in Murcia and then in his usual club. in Villena. With his mind fixed on the American tour where Carlitos returns to the hard court, his favorite surface. The number one arrives at the Canadian Masters 1000 as a big favorite and will make his debut at dawn from Wednesday to Thursday, not before 1:00 a.m. on Movistar+, against his compatriot Bernabé Zapata (64th in the ATP ranking) or the young American Ben Shelton ( 41st row).

He set foot on Canadian soil and quickly moved to the facilities of the tournament, which is being held this year in Toronto, where upon his arrival he trained with the Russian Medvedev, seeded number two and also contender On title. Alcaraz has gone from English elegance to North American bustle, but its devotion to Spanish remains intact. As soon as they entered the track, the fans started to exclaim “Carlitos, Carlitos!”. However, the experience of the Murcian in this country did not please him last year when he lost in the second round against the American Tommy Paul (6-7, 7-6 and 6-3). In this match, Alcaraz admitted that the pressure got the better of him. “I didn’t have a good tournament in Canada. I came this year to change it, I hope to go far, to do better than last season. A year later, I think I learned a lot from that situation, how to handle the pressure. I played in big stadiums, big games, I fought for big things. I think it helped me a lot to grow as a player, as a person. A year later, I’m totally different, ”said an Alcaraz who will only have to defend 190 points between Canada and Cincinnati.

Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal from the Canadian tournament due to “fatigue”, as the Serbian said, gives the Spanish tennis player the opportunity to confirm his status as the number one seed for the US Open, where he will defend the title and 2000 champion points. To do so, Alcaraz must win the trophy in Toronto, it would be his seventh title of the season and his fifth Masters 1000 in two years. If he can’t do that, he’ll have another chance next week in Cincinnati, where reaching the quarter-finals, as he did last year, would be enough to retain the number one throne in New York. But this time there would already be the Serb who, after two years, will be able to return to the United States after the American government lifts the ban on those who are not vaccinated.

Djokovic will not be in Canada, but it will still not be easy for the Murcian, who will face a demanding team. If he passes the first exam, against Zapata or Shelton, he could face the Pole Hurkacz in the round of 16, his generation mate Rune in the quarter-finals, Tsitsipas or Sinner in the semi-finals and the Russian Medvedev in a hypothetical final. The Greek has just won his first title of the season at the ATP 250 in Los Cabos, while the Italian is the latest executioner of Murcia on hard court. It was in the semifinals in Miami, where Sinner tied three head to head after winning 6-7, 6-4 and 6-2. Still, Alcaraz has won six titles in 2024 (Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, Barcelona, ​​Madrid, Queens and Wimbledon) and hasn’t lost since June 9, when his body collapsed from cramps in the semi-finals. of Roland Garros against Novak Djokovic. He has a series of twelve victories, all on grass, but that does not prevent the current number one from wanting more: “I am clear that I have to improve everything. You can always be better, you can always improve, so right now I’m trying to improve everything a bit,” he confirmed to the media.

Although he is now focused on the concrete courts, the recent Wimbledon champion could not, and does not want, to forget his achievement in the English capital. “I only had a week to think about it, I didn’t have much time. I think it needed a little more because it’s crazy how difficult it is to achieve.” In addition, he assured, the gold trophy has a privileged place in his house: “J I have the Wimbledon trophy placed in the living room, so every time I have lunch or dinner with my family, I see the title. It’s something I don’t want to forget.”

The Canadian tournament, where the last champion, Pablo Carreño, is still absent due to elbow problems, also has the presence of Alejandro Davidovich (37 years old in ranking) who beat the American Wolf on Monday (6-0 and 6-2 in 65 minutes) and is already in the second round where he will face the German Zverev. Bernabé Zapata could accompany the Malaga man and beat Alcaraz in the second round if he beats Ben Shelton first (at 11:00 p.m., on Movistar+). In just two days of the tournament, there have already been surprises in the competition, including former glories of the circuit like Milos Raonic and Gaël Monfils, both playing with Wildcard character (invitation from the organization). The Canadian beat Tiafoe in three sets (6-7, 7-6 and 6-3) while the Frenchman got rid of the revelation of the season, Cristopher Eubanks (6-7, 7-6 and 6-1 ).

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