2023 has seen the highs and lows of Carlos Alcaraz. From defeats at the French Open and Cincinnati to epic wins at Wimbledon and ATP Masters events, the Spaniard has produced some attractive tennis. His groundstrokes and especially his forehand drop shots, which happen as bolts out of the blue, have troubled many elite players through the season.
Amid a quiet two weeks where the Spaniard has spent his time recuperating from fatigue developed during the US Open, Alcaraz is looking forward to returning to the tennis court and regain his world no.1 ranking from Novak Djokovic.
Rick Macci foresees bright future for Carlos Alcaraz
Former tennis player and ex-coach Rick Macci had some words of encouragement for Carlos Alcaraz. Taking to X (formerly known as Twitter), Macci saw a silver lining in the Spaniard’s performance at the US Open and foresaw a stellar 2024 season for him.
“That painful stinging feeling will be a Priceless New York Gold Nugget in his back pocket for life and will IGNITE the Spanish Magician to bust through the Door and maybe grab 3 Slams in 2024.”, he wrote.
Over the years, Macci has coached five number-one-ranked players over the years: Andy Roddick, Jennifer Capriati, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, and Venus Williams. His validation of Alcaraz’s talent and prowess should boost the 20-year-old’s confidence ahead of the upcoming year-end ATP tournaments.
Alcaraz dropped out of the Davis Cup and the Shangai Masters and will instead probably head to Paris for the year’s last ATP Masters. He also has other events lined up, along with an appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals, before he brings down the curtains on this season.
Alcaraz’s missed dream final with Novak Djokovic at U.S. Open
Carlos Alcaraz began the U.S. Open as one of the favourites, along with Novak Djokovic. The top-two ranked players were highly anticipated to meet in the finals after producing some epic moments of tennis competitiveness over the course of the year.
While Alcaraz breezed through to the semifinals, beating Zverev along the way, Novak found the road to the final a bit tougher. He had to weather five-setter epics before he regained his confidence to reach the final, where he awaited either Alcaraz or Daniil Medvedev.
On a humid, sweaty night in New York, Carlos Alcaraz was upset by the Russian in 4 sets. His powerful strokeplay was overpowered by a strong Medvedev, who won 6-7, 1-6, 6-3, 3-6.
Alcaraz, thus, exited the tournament earlier than expected and missed out on a reunion with his rival Djokovic in a dream final.
“I’m not mature enough to handle these situations.”, Alcaraz said after the match in a remark on his shock loss.
Carlos Alcaraz may have unanswered questions regarding his performance at the US Open, but as Rick Macci’s comments signify, the Spaniard will look to bounce back quickly. How much are you expecting a Novak-Carlos reunion before the end of 2023? Let us know in the comments section below.
