Carlos Alcaraz admitted that he was feeling pain after his second victory at the 2024 Shanghai Masters.
Before last season, the young Spanish player never got to experience playing at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai. The tournament was not held between 2020 and 2022 because of COVID-19, and before that, he wasn't even competing on the ATP Tour yet.
That changed last year when he reached the fourth round at the event. He made it to the same stage this year after beating home player Wu Yibing to reach the fourth round of the tournament.
However, there is still a difference between last year's tournament and this year's for Alcaraz. In 2023, he came to Shanghai relatively rested after losing in the semi-finals of the China Open in Jannik Sinner.
This year, his situation is different. He came to Shanghai after winning the title in Beijing, and initially, both China Open finalists were set to play their first match at the Shanghai Masters less than 48 hours after their final in Beijing.
Thanks to a sensible decision by the tournament organizers, they didn't have to, and now both are already in the fourth round, while some players still have to play their second-round matches.
Still, playing so much tennis didn't come without a cost for Alcaraz, as he admitted after his win over Wu. The Spanish player admitted that he was feeling pain in some parts of his body, but quickly calmed any worries, saying that it's normal for tennis players.
"Well, I'm feeling great. Honestly, I'm feeling some pain in some part of the body, but what is normal for tennis player, you know, we have to deal with it. I'm feeling great."
The question came after Jannik Sinner admitted that he was feeling fatigued from playing in the China Open final. Speaking further about the topic, the 21-year-old Spaniard explained that the two have a slightly different style. Sinner also had to play more in Shanghai, as he lost a set, so that could be a reason for his increased fatigue.
"I think we both have different styles on the court. I mean, today he played a really intense match, long rallies, long match. So, for me, the last two matches have been not really tough physically, you know, in terms of physically."
Although he was feeling probably a bit fresher than his closest challenger for the title, Alcaraz admitted that he was looking forward to getting a day off to recover, as he wasn't able to do that after coming to Shanghai from Beijing, playing matches back-to-back.
"So, I'm just feeling great, really happy to have a day off to recover, to practice a little bit and take it easy and be ready for the next round."
In the fourth round, Alcaraz will play against the winner of the match between Ugo Humbert and Gael Monfils, and he will have a significant advantage over either of them since they have still yet to play their match, even though the Spaniard has already enjoyed more than 24 hours of rest.