Carlos Alcaraz made an interesting admission ahead of the 2024 Laver Cup, saying he wants to play as many matches as possible in the remainder of the season.
There hasn't been a topic more discussed on the tennis Tours in the past couple of years than the schedule. Players, namely the leading voices on both Tours, constantly complain about it being too demanding.
On the WTA Tour, it has been primarily Iga Swiatek who voiced her concerns and, once again, didn't sign up for the Billie Jean King Cup Finals because of the tournament's proximity to the WTA Finals.
On the ATP Tour, there have been multiple players who complained about the schedule. Doing so multiple times this year was Alcaraz, who stated that players were being forced to play too much.
It wasn't just the Spaniard who complained about his schedule. He was also advised not to play so much, as Alcaraz himself admitted that he didn't have much energy during his shocking 2024 US Open loss.
However, with the season coming to an end, the 21-year-old seemingly changed his stance. Moving to indoor courts, where he didn't have so much success before, he wants to do his best to adapt, and that will start at the 2024 Laver Cup.
The Spaniard will make his debut at the popular exhibition event, which will run from September 20th to 22nd in Berlin this year. As he revealed prior to his debut, one of the reasons why he chose it was the indoor conditions.
"Well, I'm not used to play so many indoors, so for me it's always great to have matches in my bag in the indoor courts just to get ready on it and try to play better, you know."
Alcaraz sees the Laver Cup as an exhibition tournament, but at the same time, he wants to do his best on the court. That's probably why he chose it as his first tournament to adapt to the conditions, given that his possible losses wouldn't have any direct consequences.
"But obviously, here in the Laver Cup, probably it's not an official ATP tournament, but for me, I'm gonna try to play like it is and try to play my best tennis and see what my level is against a really good tennis player who is in a really good form."
After that, Alcaraz surprisingly admitted that he wants to play as many matches as possible until the end of the season, in contrast to his previous claims about the too-busy schedule.
"Right now until the ATP Finals end of the year, I'm going to try to play as much matches as I can. Right now is probably indoors, indoor swing, so I try to get better every tournament, every match that I'm going to play. I'm right now, here in the Laver Cup, I'm going to try to be the best partner, best player for my team."
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