Carlos
Alcaraz played with
Nicolas Jarry's son as they prepare for their debut at the
Beijing Open.
The World
No. 2 is just hours away from making his first appearance at the Beijing Open,
marking his debut in a tournament held in China. In the first round, Carlos
Alcaraz will face German player Yannik Hanfmann, ranked 53rd, who successfully
navigated the qualifying rounds.
The
tournament boasts an attractive draw with 19 top-25 players, including Nicolas
Jarry, ranked 23rd. Alcaraz had the opportunity to spend time with Jarry's
family, who often accompany him on his travels, including his wife and their
son, Juan.
A video of
Alcaraz playing with Nicolas Jarry's older son circulated on social media.
Jarry had previously shared moments of his son interacting with other prominent
players, such as Ons Jabeur, a couple of weeks ago.
Jarry
recently welcomed his second child while competing in the Cincinnati Open. Due
to this, he withdrew from the tournament in the second round before his
scheduled match against Alexei Popyrin and traveled back to Chile. Despite the
disruption, he managed to return to North America to participate in the US
Open, where he reached the third round before being defeated by Alex de Minaur.
In the
Beijing Open, Jarry was drawn to face Stefanos Tsitsipas, with whom he shares a
2-2 head-to-head record, including two recent encounters. Jarry surprised the
former World No. 3 with a victory at the Halle Open by a score of 7-6(7) and
7-5. However, Tsitsipas took revenge in Los Cabos, winning 6-7(6), 7-6(4), and
6-2.
As for
Carlos Alcaraz, this tournament marks his first appearance since his tough
defeat in the semifinals of the US Open, where he lost to World No. 3 Daniil
Medvedev. That loss denied him the chance to compete in a dream final against
Novak Djokovic and defend his title. Consequently, he also lost the World No. 1
ranking.
The points
gap between Alcaraz and Djokovic has now widened to over 3000 points, so
Alcaraz will have to wait for another opportunity to claim the top spot in the
rankings.