"I'm a guy who doesn't need much competition before a big tournament": Carlos Alcaraz defends decision to skip warm-up events ahead of Australian Open
Carlos Alcaraz has defended his decision to skip all tournaments in the lead-up to the 2024 Australian Open.
Alcaraz concluded his 2023 season with a semifinal exit at the ATP Finals. The Spaniard spent much of his off-season training at his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero's academy in Spain.
While the World No. 2 took part in several exhibition events during his pre-season training, defeating Novak Djokovic and Roberto Bautista Agut in back-to-back events, he opted to skip all warm-up tournaments ahead of the Australian Open.
During a pre-tournament press conference, the 20-year-old divulged that his decision was motivated by his desire to take a holiday and recover from the demanding season.
"Well, we end the season so, so late. I prefer to have a holiday, have my days to recover my body, my mind as well. Obviously I prefer to do a really good pre-season," Carlos Alcaraz said.
"I think we discussed with my team, as well, that we need almost four, five weeks of pre-season to prepare well this season, for the first Grand Slam of the year. We have no time if I wanted to play a tournament before the Australian Open. At the end we preferred to come here to Australian Open, straight to a Grand Slam," he added.
Carlos Alcaraz justified his choice by expressing confidence in his ability to compete at the Major without needing extensive competitive action, emphasizing his readiness to deliver a strong performance in Melbourne.
"Yeah, I think I'm a guy who doesn't need so much competition before a big tournament. Obviously always help. I think I'm prepared to do a good things here in the Grand Slam," he said.
Carlos Alcaraz: "I think this year, it's going to be a good one"
During the press conference, Carlos Alcaraz also shared his optimistic outlook for the 2024 season and reiterated his preparedness for the Australian Open.
"Well, yeah, I'm still exciting about this year. I hope it's going to be as good as the 2023 (smiling). Yeah, prepared really, really well at the start. We are going to start with this tournament. I think I did a good preparation coming to this year," he said.
The Spaniard outlined his goals as well, stating his desire to collaborate with his coaching team on addressing and improving upon his shortcomings from the previous year.
"I think right now we have to improve with the things that I didn't do well last year, for example, and try to be better with my team and myself obviously. I think this year, it's going to be a good one," he added.
Carlos Alcaraz, who missed last year's edition of the event due to injury, will commence his 2024 Australian Open campaign against Richard Gasquet in the first round.