Alcaraz already has the 2024 Australian Open in his sights. The Spaniard played an exhibition match this Wednesday against the Australian De Miñaur, in which he lost 6-4, 5-6 and 10-3. The meeting has helped Carlitos to get some time in before the start of the first major event of the year, since he has not officially taken to the court since the ATP Finals in Turin last November.
Despite the defeat, the player from Murcia, together with the host De Minaur, gave a good repertoire of points to the fans present in a Rod Laver Arena that was close to full capacity. However, De Minaur, new world number 10, won the first set in front of his home crowd and took the lead in the second, taking a 4-1 lead.
However, Alcaraz balanced the second set at 5-5 and later placed the score at 7-5 to tie the duel. The clash would be defined in the tiebreaker super tiebreak that De Miñaur would win (10-3). The local idol continues to feel good at the beginning of the season, after defeating Djokovic a week ago in the United Cup (6-4 and 6-4).
For his part, Alcaraz is still working out hard for the first big event of the year. The Murcian returns to the Melbourne Open two years later, since he could not compete in the last edition due to a muscle injury in his right leg. Thus, this will be the El Palmar player's third participation in Australia.
In 2021, he entered from the qualifying phase and lost to Michael Ymer in the second round and in 2022 he fell in the third against the Italian Matteo Berrettini. In preparation, the world number two has held training sessions this week with the Norwegian Casper Ruud and the Russian Andrei Rublev.
In addition, Alcaraz still has one obstacle to overcome in the countdown to his debut at the Australian Open. The Spanish tennis player will play a second preparatory match this Friday, precisely against Ruud, eleventh in the ATP ranking.
Carlos Alcaraz will be the second seed at the Australian Open, while his greatest rival, the current winner Novak Djokovic, will be the first seed. The world number one has won 10 of his 23 Grand Slams in Melbourne and has a record of 42 wins and no losses as the number one seed in the ocean championship.
The first major of the year, which will be played from January 14 to 28, also features the participation of the Spanish Alejandro Davidovich, twenty-third seed. In the women's team, Iga Swiatek, world number one, is the first in this matter, while the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, the last champion on Australian soil, is the second.
