World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz revealed he decided to withdraw from the Shanghai Masters as he wanted to recover and recharge his batteries. The Spaniard is yet to register a win at the Rolex Paris Masters, and he would be looking to go all the way in the tournament.
Alcaraz has been ticking the right boxes in the ongoing season and has won two Slams – the French Open and the US Open. Before the Shanghai Masters, Alcaraz had won the Japan Open after beating Taylor Fritz in the final.
“Obviously, I didn’t want to withdraw from Shanghai. It’s a really important tournament for me and for the players,” Alcaraz said in his pre-tournament press conference on Saturday in Paris. “But I had to heal my body, and I think I wasn’t ready to play another tournament in a row. So I just preferred to come back home, recover the ankle, and try to be in good shape for this time of the year.
“I think we could see last year, two years ago, that I’m not coming fresh to this time of the year. So I really wanted to put more attention on that, being in good shape, practising well, and coming here, thinking that I can do a really good result. So right now, physically, I’m feeling good. I just practised well, hitting the ball really well.”
Alcaraz said the Paris Masters’ courts are slower than last year, which he prefers.
“This year is totally different than last year. I think it is a huge difference, which I like,” Alcaraz said with a smile. “The speed of the court is much slower than last year, but I think it is a really good speed that we can see tennis, not only serve and serve plus one; you can see rallies, you can see points, you can see tennis.
“I’ve said many times that I like slower courts, not that fast. This tournament is not my best one in terms of results, but I love playing here. I’m not really used to playing indoors, but year after year, I think I’m getting more used to it. So we will see this year. Hopefully, I] go farther than previous years.”
Alcaraz opens his campaign against either Cameron Norrie or Sebastian Baez.
