Alcaraz finds out what he did to beat illness and Rublev in the ATP Finals

Carlos Alcaraz

and his technical team barely exchanged a word in the match they lost Casper Ruud on his debut at the ATP Finals in Turin in 2024. Everyone knew what the situation was, that the Murcian was not feeling well and it was better not to cause him too much discomfort. Not when he led 5-2 in the second set and ended up losing 6-1 and 7-5.

It was Monday. He barely set foot on the training track for ten minutes on Tuesday as he continued to struggle to recover after pushing it a bit. He was breathing heavily, his chest felt heavy.

But everyone had to work to try and turn things around Andrey Rublev, on Wednesday. And it worked, because he won 6-3 and 7-6 (10-8), and on Friday he will have the opportunity to compete for a place in the semi-finals against the German. Alexander Zverev

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“If someone had told me, I would have said I was dreaming,” Alcaraz said. Alex Corretja in Movistar Plus+ about his transformation, wonderful because it changed from 0 to 100.

There was specific preparation behind this. Not only the natural progression of the disease, antibiotics and ointments applied to the chest, but also mental work.

The cold continues, but Alcaraz woke up better this Wednesday. He tried a nasal patch, which he later admitted helped him. But, first of all, it affected his head, his attitude, the way he treated the situation.

“I came out ready to forget that I was sick, that I felt bad. I was a completely different person. Nobody wants to be sick at such an important tournament, but you need to be able to accept it,” he said.

He even took the field with two plans when on Monday he didn’t even have the strength to do that. “I surprised myself because he can play deep, I found that he can handle the exchanges. And the serve helped me a lot,” he analyzed.

Words from their parents

Conversations with your coach Juan Carlos Ferrero and his manager Albert Molinaand all members of his coaching staff understood this. Moreover, when their father supported them, Carlos, who is in Turin, and his mother, Virginiawho follows him from the family home.

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“After the first game I talked to my team. My father told me something, my mother also from home. These are things that need to be accepted as they are. Nobody wants to lose at such an important tournament, but you We must know, accept it. We have to do the best we can in these circumstances, look for solutions, and I think I did that pretty well,” he congratulated himself. Carlos Alcarazwhich was overcome to keep the disease and its rival at bay Andrey Rublev.

Physical care was a responsibility, psychological work upset the balance in favor of the more combative and resilient Alcaraz.

Not everything is fine yet, but the situation is improving. “What has improved is my stomach, but I don’t see much improvement in my runny nose, nose or chest. I keep hoping as the days go by and the situation will improve, I hope I feel better on Friday. If it happens, it happens very well, and if it doesn’t, then I will try to do my best no matter what,” he said.