Carlos Alcaraz has kicked off his ATP Finals campaign in relative style by beating Alex de Minaur in the curtain-raiser for the 2025 event.
Alcaraz praised Cameron Norrie after a shock second-round exit to him at the Paris Masters, and he arrives in Turin well refreshed, ready for an assault on the title.
Despite the fact that Alcaraz will be vying for the title with Jannik Sinner, the talk ahead of the tournament has been around Novak Djokovic’s decision to withdraw from the event.
Lorenzo Musetti shared that Djokovic told him at the Athens Open that he wouldn’t be playing in the ATP Finals, with the Italian getting the nod to enter.
Taylor Fritz and Alcaraz have already addressed Djokovic’s decision to withdraw and now, the Spaniard has been asked to elaborate a little bit.
What Carlos Alcaraz has said about Novak Djokovic withdrawing from ATP Finals
It would appear that Alcaraz is pretty satisfied that Djokovic has made the decision to pull out, given that the Serbian legend should have been in his group.
After beating De Minaur 7-6, 6-2, he was asked whether he’s glad that he’s opted to cancel his participation in the event and it would appear he’s ecstatic!
He said in his press conference: “Well, obviously, someone like Novak being in the group is always tough. The experience he has in this tournament, the level he has on the indoor court, it’s quite good. I lost to him in 2023, and I played great. He killed me!
“To be honest, I prefer Lorenzo. I’m not going to lie.
“If he’s there, he deserves it because of the level he has put on the matches, the tournaments he has done this year, and the level he showed this year. It was really, really high. Let’s see how he’s going to be, how he’s going to adapt. He’s coming from Athens, and he couldn’t feel the court at all.”
Alcaraz aiming to win ATP Finals for the first time
The Spanish performer will want to finish his year with a flourish, and after an early exit in Paris, he will want to try and set up a final date with Jannik Sinner, who should progress from the other group.
Alcaraz and Sinner only have six titles left to win at least once when it comes to the so-called bigger events, and one of them for Alcaraz is the ATP Finals.
Given that Sinner has thrown himself into the schedule over the past few weeks and managed to win the Paris Masters, Alcaraz should arrive well rested after that defeat to Norrie.
As a result, it’s absolutely no surprise that he’s delighted to see Djokovic withdraw and after defeating De Minaur, there appears no reason why he shouldn’t be looking to top his group.
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