'Stronger Mentally': Alcaraz Ready To Take On Rival Djokovic At ATP Finals

| by Sebastian Dahlman

Carlos Alcaraz will contest the semi-final at his maiden ATP Finals, and he thinks he's mentally stronger compared to a few months ago.

Alcaraz didn't have a really good showing at the end of the year disappointing at a few events. His Shanghai stay was short as he played below his level, and the same goes for the Paris Masters.

The first match in Turin also wasn't that spectacular, but he's since looked much better and won two big matches. The one against Daniil Medvedev was particularly impressive as he needed to win it to qualify for the semi-final, and he did.

He won comfortably in two sets and expressed happiness about feeling good on the court. He also added that he feels mentally stronger than a few weeks ago.

Probably I'm stronger mentally. Right now, comparing to Paris, I've spoken about dealing with the pressure, dealing with tough, tough moments. In Paris I didn't deal with the pressure. I learned about that situation. Then came Wimbledon, came Cincinnati. It was a really, really good match.

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Staying mentally strong will be extremely important for the rest of his event. He needs to play really well if he hopes to go all the way, which is his goal. He'll face Novak Djokovic, which is going to be an interesting match between the two.

We'll finally see that matchup again, as the last time we saw it was at the Cincinnati Masters. Many fans expected it at the US Open, but Daniil Medvedev denied the final showdown there.

I think facing someone like Novak, you have to stay strong mentally and deal with the pressure that he puts on you in every ball, in every point. I think I learned a lot about that. I think I'm ready to face him tomorrow.

One thing to look out for is how motivated Djokovic is because he seemed distracted in some matches. He admitted recently that his main goal is the Davis Cup so he might be thinking ahead. We'll see, but it should be good either way.

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