Last Updated on December 21, 2021
It has been a season of firsts for Carlos Alcaraz. The young Spanish tennis player started 2021 by gaining main draw access to the Australian Open by beating Filip Horansky, Evgeny Karlovskiy and Hugo Dellien in the qualifying tournament.
In Melbourne, Alcaraz found his first win at Slam level against Botic van de Zandschulp and then lost in the second round to Mikael Ymer. At home, specifically in Marbella, the 18-year-old went all the way to the semifinals, before reaching the second round at Roland Garros as well.
After a narrow defeat against Daniil Medvedev at Wimbledon, Alcaraz won his first ATP title in Umag, where he defeated the experienced Richard Gasquet 6-2, 6-2. As if that wasn’t enough, Juan Carlos Ferrero’s student then gained access to the quarterfinals of the US Open by defeating then world number three Stefanos Tsitsipas in five sets.
In the last part of the season, Alcaraz finally won without too many problems the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan and only the Covid-19 positivity prevented him from representing Spain in the Davis Cup; Spain then left the historic team event before the quarterfinals due to the decisive defeat against Russia.
Alcaraz sets goals for next season
The Spaniard, who ended the year at the 32nd position in the ATP ranking, who received the “Promise Award” in Madrid revealed his goals ahead of 2022.
“This year came the turning point. I hope it’s just the beginning of something great. I will keep this award in my room. I am happy that the work done this has been recognized.”, said Alcaraz.
“In 2022 I want to aim even higher and I hope to enter the top 15. I might even try to qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin 2022. It is a complicated goal to achieve, we will see what happens in the final part of next season.
I don’t feel the pressure, I know the road ahead well. I only had two or three days off and a week without touching the racket”
