December 18, 2022, 11:45 AM
December 18, 2022, 11:45 AM
The Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz is convinced that he will be prepared to compete at his best level at the Australian Open which will take place in January, despite an abdominal injury that curtailed his preseason.
The world number 1 recovered from a muscle tear in his left abdomen that prevented him from playing the season-ending Masters and the Davis Cup in the last weeks of the year, without being able to train at full capacity until last week.
Two defeats against Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud in a tournament in Abu Dhabi this weekend they helped Alcaraz return to action and the 19-year-old Spaniard believes he has enough time to train and find his game before the start of the first Grand Slam of 2023, on January 16.
“I would say that the key is to train a lot, put in a lot of hours on the track. With that you will reach your best level and be ready for the season”the reigning US Open champion told reporters in the United Arab Emirates capital.
“I have a month before the Australian Open so I have time to continue trainingtrying to reach my level and I would say that I am going to be ready and 100% in Australia,” he added.
Alcaraz, the youngest world number 1 in the history of the ATP, will not participate in any official tournament prior to the Australian Open, although it will be on display at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club in Melbourne from January 10-12.
Spanish knows that 2023 will come with new experiences for him now that he is a Grand Slam winner and that he occupies the highest position in the ranking.
“I have to be prepared for this: the pressure, the people, the players too, they are going to have all their eyes on me and I am going to have to be prepared for it.” explained.
The Murcian also believes that the fact of coming out of injury and not having had much time to train may take some of the pressure off Australia.
“Surely it will help me a bit to try not to think about the people, the expectations and the ranking”he stated this Sunday.
