Carlos Alcaraz defeated the current top-ranked player to secure the victory. The 36-year-old Serbian has previously outplayed the rising star in two other matches this year. Djokovic dominated against Alcaraz in Paris to win the French Open, and also fought his way to a win in the final of the Cincinnati Masters in an epic battle.
Both players have already suffered defeats in the ATP Finals, which is why they will be facing each other in the semi-finals instead of the final match. Sinner’s unexpected victory over Djokovic was a surprise, but Alcaraz’s performance has not been as steady as expected since winning Wimbledon. According to his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Alcaraz needs to learn that the professional tennis season runs from January to November.
The Spaniard needs no greater example of what is required to reach the top and stay there than the man who will be on the other side of the net to him at Pala Alpitour. Nobody needs to tell Djokovic, very much still the alpha in men’s tennis, that the season runs 11 months of the calendar. Should Djokovic, who has already sewn up the end-of-year world No 1 ranking, win his next two matches he will move past Roger Federer and take solo possession of the record for ATP Finals titles with seven.
Following the Wimbledon tournament, it seemed as though Alcaraz was prepared to become the top player.tm
He must now reclaim victory in that conflict. I am anticipating an explosive display.
Source: theguardian.com
