Carlos Alcaraz won't play a single official preparation event before the 2024 Australian Open, and compatriot and tennis analyst Alex Corretja hopes it pays off.
There is no right way to go about tennis because players are different. Some do it one way, some do it the other way, and it's about finding what works best for each individual. It's a pretty good rule to follow for anything in life, but generally, most players have routines they stick to.
Alcaraz generally plays some preparation tournaments before a Grand Slam event, but that won't be the case for this year's Australian Open. He won't play a single official preparation event before the Australian Open, which is unusual both for him and generally.
In fairness, he has played matches recently. The exhibition match with Novak Djokovic in Riyadh was a perfect match, as was the most recent one against Alex de Minaur in Australia.
It's just the lack of official ATP Tour-level matches that is strange. It doesn't have to be a negative, though, and tennis analyst Alex Corretja told Eurosport that he hopes it won't.
"It's a little bit unusual not to play any tournament before the Australian Open but I think as the tournament goes on, Carlos will find his rhythm. They're hoping to have a draw where he can face players and the rhythm that he’s been missing in the last few weeks, because he hasn't played."
Alcaraz is one of those players who can play himself into a rhythm during a match, let alone a few matches, but it could be risky. He might find himself in a tricky spot early on if he gets a bad draw.
We'll see in a few days, but for Corretja, it actually signals a high degree of confidence. It's possible, because he's certainly not a player that lacks it.
"At the same time, that shows a lot of confidence in himself - just showing up first tournament of the year, playing at a Grand Slam. If he does well they would say ’oh it was great preparation’, if he doesn't do well they would say ‘oh he was lack of matches’."
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