Alcaraz finally on the scene. Can he repeat last year’s phenomenal spring? Surprisingly, his main target is not Wimbledon

He was the symbol of last year and the main challenger to Novak Djokovic for a substantial part of 2023. Carlos Alcaraz also beat the Serb in the Wimbledon final. But this grandslam is surprisingly not the Spanish tennis player’s main target this year. Where do the ambitions of the current number two in the ATP rankings go from here? When will he finally appear in a competitive match?

Alcaraz and new motivation

After his triumph at the legendary Wimbledon, he was everywhere. He briefly became world number one as well. But by the end of the season, he was playing more of a second fiddle and even at the opening Grand Slam of the year, he failed to impress.

At the Australian Open, his final stop was the quarterfinals. He was shut out by Germany’s Zverev with relative ease. Carlos Alcaraz now returns to where his run began last year. South America.

He triumphed in Buenos Aires last year. He didn’t lose a set at this ATP 250 event last season. Now he’s going to defend and his competitors here will be similar players to last year.

In the Argentine capital, the Serbian Djere or the Chilean Jarry will play. The number two is again the Briton Norrie. It was he who faced Alcaraz in the final here last year.

But that’s just the beginning of a string of tournaments to defend. After all, Alcaraz dominated last year’s event in Indian Wells, where he successfully switched from clay to hard surface. His other triumphs have come on the slowest surface, winning in Barcelona and Madrid.

But the 20-year-old Spaniard does not consider either of those events to be his biggest goal this season. He would even give up triumphing at any Grand Slam. The Olympics are his biggest prospect.

Paris 2024

The Summer Olympics will be held in Paris this year. For Alcaraz, on an ideal surface. Although the Spanish tennis player has already triumphed at two Grand Slams with different surfaces, it is on clay that he has the most success.

His dream is to win an Olympic medal for the Spanish colours. He would put success at the Olympics before anything else.

Thus, the Spaniard has the opposite view on the matter than many other tennis players who usually place the Olympics below the four tennis majors on their rankings.

And he wouldn’t actually have to win to fulfil his dream. In fact, Alcaraz has also stated that it would be a dream to play doubles alongside Rafael Nadal in Olympic Paris. Let’s wish the Spaniards that nothing gets in the way of that vision.

Finally …

The clay part of the tour is certainly getting more interesting thanks to Alcaraz. For most European players, however, this week’s tournament in Rotterdam is the main event.

Source: ATP, NBC Sports