Carlos Alcaraz has big plans for 2024, and we know how the first three months of his season will go, thanks to his schedule.
The Spanish player started managing his schedule early in his career, and it's a hugely important thing. Many consider it the key to longevity in tennis, which is what Alcaraz ultimately aims for.
He's had some brushes with injury, so making sure he makes the most out of every season is paramount. The first few months of a season are pretty straightforward.
There are several big events that most players play and then the occasional smaller event in between if they feel like it. When it comes to Alcaraz, he's one of the players who will skip any preparation events before the Australian Open and make his return there.
We'll see how that works out for him because he's generally been a player who plays at least one preparation event before a Grand Slam. After the Australian Open, Alcaraz will take a smaller break before traveling to Buenos Aires for the Argentina Open.
He will then play the Rio Open the following week as well, the same as he did last year. It's a good place for him as he won in Buenos Aires last year and nearly won in Rio. After these events, March is pretty simple.
There are two big ATP Masters 1000 events, and he's going to play both of them. First, it's the Indian Wells Masters, and then it's the Miami Masters.
It's not an empty schedule by any means, but interestingly, he's going to South America once more in favor of the Middle East, and that might have a lot to do with the surface.
Those are clay events, a surface he's been dominant at and the events generally have a weaker entry list. Makes it easier to win them.