ATP Finals win would make it a ’10 out of 10′ season for Carlos Alcaraz after Wimbledon win says Alex Corretja

Alex Corretja says Carlos Alcaraz “knocked down every barrier he faced” in 2023 and winning the Nitto ATP Finals would make it a “perfect” season.

Alcaraz, 20, has won six titles this year, including Wimbledon, two Masters events, and Queen’s.

He has also spent time as world No. 1 and made the semis of the French Open and US Open.

Even though his form has dipped slightly in the second half of the season and he hasn’t won a title since Wimbledon, Eurosport expert Corretja has still been wowed by what he has achieved.

“His season has been unbelievable,” said Corretja.

“He’s been very adaptable because he’s been playing well on a lot of surfaces, which is not that easy at this age, especially if you are a Spanish player, because your mentality is more a little bit ‘OK, I’m going to grow up on clay, I’m going to see how I develop my game on that surface and then I will adjust myself to be good on hard’.

“He went and won his first major on hard courts, then the biggest major for him on grass at Wimbledon. He just knocked down every barrier that he faced, and I think mentally he is ready.

“Next year is going to be an amazing year for Alcaraz for sure, and we’ll see, because maybe the ATP Finals can give him this extra feeling again of doing something even bigger in 2023.

“If that’s not the case, his season will be still huge and great.

“If he finishes winning the ATP Finals, of course that would be like a 10 out of 10, perfect season. If not, he might have a 9.5 out of 10 or 9.75 at least, I would say.”

Alcaraz will be making his debut at the season-ending ATP Finals as the second seed behind Novak Djokovic.

His group matches includes a rematch against Daniil Medvedev, who beat him in the US Open semi-finals.

“He gave everything he had during clay season, then finished it off unbelievably well at Wimbledon, winning Queen’s and Wimbledon. I think that was his peak,” said Corretja.

“He still had the feeling, the motivation, the wind of winning Wimbledon in his back going to the USA. I think that Cincinnati final against Djokovic where he gave everything he had and ended up losing hurt him a little bit as he gave the biggest effort and he didn’t have the reward.

“And then semi-finals of the US Open, he was a little bit, let’s say, surprised by the way Daniil played against him. And from then on I think he definitely went a little bit down mentally.

“Physically… I didn’t see him enjoying that much on the court. But I think now he went back home and I know he’s been practicing very well. He’s happy again and he needed this time to recover a little bit.

“I think the summertime, it was too demanding for him and it was difficult for him to deal with all the expectations and all his motivation maybe to finish No. 1 knowing it was a high expectation, but nothing is wrong with Carlitos. Carlitos is great.

“He might have a nice ATP Finals, even if probably the surface and the conditions suit a little bit more the other players, but Carlitos, we always need to count on him because when he’s ready, he’s by far the most explosive guy on tour.”

Alcaraz will open against Alexander Zverev on Monday.

The head-to-head record is level at 3-3 but Alcaraz won both meetings this year in convincing fashion.

Looking ahead to the match, Corretja said: “I think it might be tough for him to play Zverev first up.

“I think for Sasha [Zverev] indoors might be probably the surface that he suits his game best because there’s no wind to bother him on his serve, no sun on your face. The ball is bouncing exactly perfectly where he wants to hit his backhand. On his forehand maybe he doesn’t struggle that much because it doesn’t go away from his body. It’s difficult to take him out of position.

“Maybe he doesn’t step that far back when he’s playing indoors, which happens a little bit on clay or hard courts. So I think the match is going to be a big battle.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they finish at 7-5 or 7-5 in the third set because that would be pretty much what I expect. And from then on whoever wins that match is going to grow so much into the tournament.”