Carlos Alcaraz will compete for his first ATP Finals title in November after qualifying for the year-end tournament.
This year’s ATP Finals run from 10 to 17 November. World No. 1 Jannik Sinner was the first man to book his place at the tournament after an exceptional season that included winning the Australian Open and US Open.
Sinner is preparing to compete at the China Open and has attracted attention for saying players do not have to sign up for every event after Alcaraz recently spoke out about the length of the calendar.
Alexander Zverev was the second man to qualify for the ATP Finals. The German is another player who is unhappy about the length of the season, arguing that the ATP does not care about player opinions.
Concerns about the schedule might explain why Zverev is not on Germany’s Davis Cup team for the Final 8 in Malaga. That decision has dealt a potentially fatal blow to his country’s chances of winning the tournament.
Alcaraz’s season hit a stumbling block during the North American hardcourt swing. He entered that period after a brutal defeat to Novak Djokovic in the gold medal match at the Olympics.
After losing to the French veteran Gael Monfils, Alcaraz lost to Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round of the US Open. This was one of the biggest upsets in Grand Slam history.
The world No. 3 returned to form at the Davis Cup. He helped Spain qualify for the knockout stage after their first two ties, meaning he could skip Spain’s final tie against Australia to rest for the Laver Cup.
Alcaraz was then the star of the show at the Laver Cup, winning more points for Team Europe than anyone else. He easily overcame Taylor Fritz to seal Team Europe’s first Laver Cup title in three years.
The 21-year-old’s fans will be relieved that his blip during the North American hard court season did not harm his chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals. His work during the clay and grass seasons is largely responsible for that.
Alcaraz sealed his first French Open title at the start of June by beating Alexander Zverev. He followed that by triumphing at Wimbledon for the second time, dismantling Novak Djokovic in straight sets.
Zverev may be the world No. 2, but he would undoubtedly swap his season for Alcaraz’s. Only Sinner has had a better year than the Spaniard because of the titles he has won outside his two Grand Slam titles.
There are still five ATP Finals qualifying spots up for grabs. Daniil Medvedev is in a strong position in fourth with 4,420 points. It would be surprising if the 2021 US Open champion did not make it to Turin.
Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev, Alex de Minaur, and Novak Djokovic are the players most likely to fill the other four spots, with one of them guaranteed to miss out. However, Grigor Dimitrov, Tommy Paul, and Stefanos Tsitsipas also have an outside chance.
