Carlos Alcaraz was not healthy in his first match at the 2024 ATP Finals in Turin, and it was reflected in the result of the match.
The young Spaniard came to Turin as one of the top favorites to win the title. He might not be the best player on indoor hard courts, and he also wasn't in top form coming into the year-end championship, but just on the pure talent, he will always be considered one of the favorites at any event.
In Turin, the 21-year-old started his campaign against Casper Ruud, who is a player he knows very well. They battled for the US Open trophy and the World No. 1 rank in 2022, with the Spanish player coming victorious from that fight.
Now they met again, and Alcaraz wasn't able to produce the level necessary to overcome his opponent. Ruud won the match in two sets, 6-1, 7-5, and it was an important win for him at the 2024 ATP Finals.
Players can advance from the round-robin stage even with one win, but he's also in a great position to get another one in one of his two upcoming matches. In his first match, the Norwegian player was also a bit lucky as Alcaraz wasn't fully healthy.
Already prior to the match, the four-time Grand Slam champion was seen blowing his nose multiple times during his practice sessions, and it was obvious also during the match that he was not feeling well.
Speaking immediately after the match, Alcaraz already hinted that he was not feeling well, which impacted his performance on the court. Obviously, he also didn't forget to give his opponent credit for the win.
"Obviously, I could be better on the court. I didn't feel well on the court. It doesn't matter the times I beat Casper. But Casper is a really uncomfortable player to play with."
"Yeah, I think he did a really good work today. But I talk about myself. I could just be better. I could play better. Obviously, I could feel better on the court, as well."
Naturally, Alcaraz was pressed more about his health. The Spaniard was asked what the issue exactly was and whether he thinks that he would be able to continue for the remainder of the week.
He revealed that he had been sick already at home, and while he felt relatively well during some of his practice days in Turin, the matches and practices are different, and that was reflected in his match against Ruud.
"Well, a few days before coming here, I got sick at home. And yeah, the days that I was practicing here, I was feeling okay. Not pretty good, but okay. I could play. I could feel that I can get into the rallies in the practice. Obviously, in the matches is totally different."
On top of that, Alcaraz revealed that he also struggled with his stomach, so he couldn't show his best tennis. Still, he didn't want to use that as an excuse but also wanted to highlight his real physical condition.
"But today I didn't feel well. In this morning, I feel uncomfortable in the stomach. After long rallies today, I couldn't feel well. I don't want to, you know, say because I don't want to sound like an excuse. But if I feel bad, I feel bad. It is what happened today."