Carlos Alcaraz has gone the extra mile to best prepare himself for the ATP Finals.
The Spaniard suffered another shock defeat, this time to Frenchman Ugo Humbert at the Paris Masters.
The 21-year-old fought hard but he was outlasted 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 in two hours and 16 minutes, as Humbert recorded arguably the biggest win of his career.
That’s now three successive losses for the World number two, including the Shanghai Masters quarter-final against Tomas Machac and the Six Kings Slam final to Jannik Sinner, though the defeat to the Italian came in an exhibition contest.
Now with the ATP Finals on the horizon, Alcaraz is working hard to be ready for the season-ending championships.
Carlos Alcaraz is desperate to win the ATP Finals for the first time in his career.
It will be played on an indoor hard court in Turin, a surface where the four-time Grand Slam champion has had some inconsistent results of late.
For example, Alcaraz dominated at the Davis Cup and Laver Cup to help Spain and Team Europe win, but struggled in Paris where he was eliminated in his second-round match.
Therefore, to ensure he is best prepared for the season-ending championships, Spanish media outlet MARCA have reported that the Ferrero Academy, run by Alcaraz’s coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, had a new court installed at the facility in October.
It is the same surface as the one used in Turin at the ATP Finals. It has been tested and is ready for Alcaraz to start practicing on.
In 2023, Alcaraz competed at the ATP Finals for the first time in his career.
He qualified for the 2022 event, but did not compete due to injury and Taylor Fritz stepped in as his replacement.
A year ago, Alcaraz began his ATP Finals campaign by losing to Alexander Zverev, before securing successive straight set wins over Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev.
He advanced to the semi-finals, where he took on the top seed and winner of three Grand Slams in 2023, Novak Djokovic.
Alcaraz was no match for the Serbian on this occasion, who recorded a 6-3, 6-2 win to reach the final, where he claimed a seventh ATP Finals title.
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