Carlos Alcaraz has reacted to the news that his biggest rival Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from the Paris Masters, while also comparing his own game to this time last year.
Alcaraz began his campaign in the French capital in winning fashion last night, beating Chilean Nicolas Jarry 7-5 6-1 to progress to the last 16.
As a result of his opening victory in Paris, Alcaraz has already gained ranking points after losing in the second round last year to Roman Safiullin.
And when speaking to media at the final Masters 1000 event of the season, Alcaraz explained to Tennis Majors how he is feeling different in 2024, “It’s always hard to compare your tennis year to year, but I am in a much better state mentally.
“I do want to play at my best level at this part of the season. It was difficult for me in 2023 to stay good mentally. It’s totally different now. I’m motivated to win this tournament, to make good results. Last year the court was probably slower but it’s difficult to compare.”
Despite Alcaraz winning his opening match in Paris, the main news story of the day came when top seed Sinner withdrew from the tournament after revealing that he had a viral illness.
This leaves Alcaraz as the highest ranked player remaining in the draw, but the Spaniard was certainly not celebrating this news.
“It’s never good news when the best player in the world withdraws from a tournament,” said Alcaraz. “I wouldn’t meet him before the final but I love to see him playing as a tennis fan. Probably the players in his part of the draw are happy but it’s not good news to my eyes.”
Alcaraz will look to bring the focus back to himself tomorrow, as he awaits his next opponent of either Ugo Humbert or Marcos Giron.
