Carlos Alcaraz's impressive 2023: A look back on the year of the Spaniard as ATP Finals campaign concludes

Carlos Alcaraz's season has concluded with the elimination of the Spaniard in the semifinals of the ATP Finals against the world number 1, Novak Djokovic. Despite the fact that the last months of the year for the Spaniard have not been easy, it is fair to say that Alcaraz's 2023 has been the season of consecration as a world tennis star of the present and future.

The current number 2 of the ATP Ranking began the year recovering from an injury in the semimembranosus muscle of his right leg, which deprived him of playing the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of the year. This caused him to lose the world number 1 in favor of Djokovic -by winning in Australia- which he had achieved at the end of 2022.

After four months away from the courts, Alcaraz returned in the ATP 250 of Buenos Aires, where he managed to win the tournament by beating Cameron Norrie 6-3, 7-5 in the final, recovering the great sensations of the previous year. However, a week later, Norrie himself took his revenge in the final of the ATP 500 Rio Open, where the Spaniard was defending his title and lost by a score of 7-5, 4-6, 5-7.

In March, Carlos Alcaraz would lift his first major trophy of the season in Indian Wells. There, he first achieved his 100th victory in the ATP circuit by defeating Tallon Griekspoor in the third round by 7-6, 6-3. Later, in the Masters 1000 final, he defeated Daniil Medvedev by beating the Russian 6-3, 6-2. That victory would allow him to regain the number 1 position in the ATP Ranking.

In the same month, Alcaraz had to defend his title at the Miami Open. There he managed to reach the semifinals of the ATP 1000 without dropping a single set, but he had to face a Jannik Sinner who has got the measure of the Spaniard, and after not being able to defend the points of the tournament he fell back to second place in the ranking.

After the 'Doblete del Sol' came the clay court season, where Carlos Alcaraz was to start by skipping the Monte Carlo Masters due to arthritis in his left hand. His debut came at the Barcelona Open, the Conde de Godó Trophy in which he would revalidate the title won in 2022 after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final without dropping a single set in the whole tournament.

The great sensations would be transferred to the Mutua Madrid Open. In the ATP 1000 event, Alcaraz was also defending the famous title won in 2022, where he defeated Alexander Zverev in the final after getting rid of none other than Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal along the way. On this occasion, the Spanish tennis player would face Jan-Lennard Struff in the final, whom he would beat to win his fourth Masters 1000 title of his very short career.

In the next tournament, the Rome Masters, Carlos Alcaraz could not get past the third round after losing against the Hungarian Fabian Marozsan. However, he returned to the world number 1 ranking thanks to his second round victory. Finally, the clay court season ended with his participation in Roland Garros. Unfortunately for him, in the semifinals of the Grand Slam in his first match of the year against Novak Djokovic, he suffered cramps in the third set of the match which led to his defeat by 3-6, 7-5, 1-6, 1-6, 1-6.

At the beginning of the grass court season there were many doubts about how Carlos Alcaraz would perform on a surface on which he barely had any experience. However, he was to get off to a great start by winning the Queen's Club Tournament, beating Alex de Miñaur 6-4, 6-4 in the final, the first trophy of his career on grass.

The triumph in the London tournament gave him back the world number 1, which he had been exchanging with Djokovic since 2023 began. This would be key, as it was going to allow him to be seeded in a Wimbledon where Alcaraz rose to the Olympus of world tennis after his brilliant performance in the third Grand Slam of the year.

The road to the final of Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon went by beating Jeremy Chardy, Alexandre Muller, Nicolas Jarry, Matteo Berrettini, Holger Rune in the quarterfinals, and Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals. In the final came the great challenge for the Spaniard when he faced Novak Djokovic, who was looking for his eighth Wimbledon, thus equaling Roger Federer's record. Far from being intimidated, Alcaraz played against the Serbian in a final that is already tennis history, and won by 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4, to break Djokovic's streak of 34 consecutive victories in the tournament, get the second Grand Slam of his career -after the US Open 2021- and secure the number 1 ranking.

With what Carlos Alcaraz had achieved so far in 2023, many tennis players who can spend their entire lives in the Top 10 ranking could only dream of winning throughout their respective careers. However, the level of demand for a world number 1 is very high, and there were still many very important tournaments ahead.

The start on hard court would not be easy for the Spaniard, who would fall in the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open against Tommy Paul by 3-6, 6-4, 3-6. Then, at the Cincinnati Open, he was to meet Novak Djokovic for the third time in 2023. The two players would give the spectators one of the most epic finals in living memory, and also the longest in the history of the Masters 1000 to three sets. However, the victory would go to Djokovic by 7-5, 6(7)-7, 6(4)-7.

In the last Grand Slam of the year, at the US Open, Carlos Alcaraz would try to seek revenge for what happened in Cincinnati, but unfortunately for the Spaniard he would meet an unstoppable version of Daniil Medvedev (6(3)-7, 1-6, 6-3, 3-6) in the semifinals while Alcaraz himself would show a drop in his performance that had been noticeable in the previous rounds.

After the blow of the defeat against Medvedev in the semifinals of the US Open, an Asian tour would come where Carlos Alcaraz would play his worst tennis of the year. He would start by reaching the semifinals of the China Open, where he was completely defeated by the eventual champion, Jannik Sinner, 6(4)-7, 1-6.

At the Shanghai Masters, the Spaniard only managed to win two matches before falling in the round of 16 against Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 2-6, 4-6. The bad sensations were very present around Alcaraz, who was suffering from the wear and tear of a very intense year. Later, the Paris Masters would finish knocking out the Spaniard, who was eliminated in the first round of the tournament against Roman Safiullin 6-3, 6-4, the worst possible result to face his first ATP Finals.

The end of the season for Carlos Alcaraz was to come at the first ATP Finals of his career. Although his debut was far from being the dream, falling to Alexander Zverev in the first match of the group stage (7-6(3), 3-6, 4-6), accumulating three defeats in a row - he had not lost three consecutive matches since March 2021 -, the Spaniard would gradually recover his good level.

In the second match, where he had to win to continue in the fight for the qualification to the semifinals, he beat Andrey Rublev without many complications, 7-5, 6-2, and he was going to play against Daniil Medvedev in the last match of the group stage. Against Medvedev, Carlos Alcaraz was again unstoppable on the court. The Spaniard got rid of the Russian, who was already qualified for the semifinals, to advance to the next round after a 6-4, 6-4 result, which would give tennis fans one last chapter in 2023 of the Alcaraz vs Djokovic rivalry that had been forged throughout the year.

Unfortunately for Carlos Alcaraz, the Spaniard was completely outplayed by Novak Djokovic in the semifinal match. The Serbian won by a score of 3-6, 2-6. In the end, it was still his first ATP Finals. Being eliminated against the best player in history is not something to get down, and even less for Alcaraz who, recovering his good level in the final tournament of the season, faces a 2024 that looks very exciting.