Tram line 70 marks the real temperature of the tournament in Australia as it passes through Flinders station. It’s Saturday, the humidity is strong and even though the action has not yet started, the fans ascend in an orderly manner – stress is prohibited, the local motto; life one point above obligations—and the carriages immediately fill to the top. This Sunday the good thing begins, tennis is a religion in this land and there is a desire for Sinner, Sabalenka, Gauff and Swiatek, also for Djokovic and Alcaraz, of course, the latter engrossed in the laboratory over the last month to become the kryptonite that no one or almost no one has managed to elaborate; perhaps he, the Murcian, the same one who knocked down the number one three times last year, the icy young king who seems not to feel or suffer, the one who wins, wins and wins. The one that grows and grows. This 2025 of absolute inflection—there is no longer any discussion about which era dominates—starts with a clear premise: Sinner, the great challenge.
And that’s what Alcaraz is going for, very aware of the magnitude of the challenge. At the same time without fear, as he usually does. “Yes, a little bit. When I play against Jannik, the mentality is a little different. That is, when you play against the best in the world, or in this case the best, you have to do something different, prepare in a different way. When I’m in front of him, I know I have to reach my best level to beat him. That’s how it is. If you have a bad day against him, he’s going to beat you 99%, and that’s what goes through my mind every time we play each other. The good thing,” continues the Spaniard in the conference room, relaxed and generous in his responses, “is that when I see him win titles and be at the top of the rankingforces me to improve and work harder and harder. I only think about improving and giving my best every day. “I think a rivalry like that is fantastic for me.”
The fact is that the figures are incontestable and that despite the equitable distribution that occurred in 2024, two grand per head, Sinner represents a monumental challenge. The current king of the circuit, more than 4,000 points above the first pursuer, the German Alexander Zverev, only lost six games last season and built a metallurgical empire starting in the summer. It was precisely there, at that point, when the double positive for clostebol was revealed and criticism intensified for having allowed him to continue competing in the middle of the investigation process, the moment in which the Italian became more or less a chimera. From the triumph in the US Open to the triumphant closings in the Masters Cup and the Davis Cup, a series of 25 victories and only one defeat. And here is Alcaraz’s hope, because in the end he was the one who inflicted it, in the same way that he knocked down the redhead before on the asphalt of Indian Wells and the sand of Roland Garros. That is, three out of three.
“The feeling of playing against Carlos is different and I think he, conversely, also feels that way,” concedes the one from San Cándido, who swept the last Australian edition. He, firm on the path despite the storm, goes about his business while Alcaraz experiments, renews himself and announces a double novelty that he has already put into practice: five grams more weight in the neck of the racket to gain stability and a new take out. Basically, eliminate pauses and become more natural.
Lower tension, protect the body
At the request of this newspaper, he details the latter: “We knew that I had to improve with the serve, that we had to do something, and this last movement is much more relaxed, with the wrist more relaxed so that the rhythm is adequate; That there is no stop when I get to the top with the racket, but that everything goes more fluidly because I think that will also help me be more relaxed. Also avoid many things during the game, it makes you not so tense, because later that takes its toll on your physique and so on. We’ll see, but it’s clear that things have to change, you can never get stuck in what you have. Otherwise you always have to change little things. Jannik himself has acknowledged that he has been changing small things during the preseason that perhaps cannot be seen, but that are different.”
Regarding the other novelty, that of the increase in weight, the 21-year-old tennis player and his team came to the conclusion that it could have a positive impact both on the return and when serving, as long as it did not jeopardize the musculature or joint. “You had to try. I played with a fairly low weight for what the professional circuit is, so we thought about those five grams and when I tried it, I noticed it quite well,” explains Alcaraz, who will debut on Monday on the second court of the complex against Alexander Shevchenko, 72nd. of the world. “The most important thing was that I could move the ball as well as with the previous racket, that I didn’t feel anything in my arm, since there are problems with elbows, shoulders and other things. And the truth is that it was fantastic for me. I think it helps me, that with more weight the ball comes out more and that for certain shots like the return or the serve, or certain situations, it is good for me. “I’m looking forward to playing now and seeing how I feel.”
Between him and Sinner, the unknown of Djokovic and the candidacy of the one who always aims and never arrives, Zverev, or the lukewarmness offered in recent times by Daniil Medvedev; too cold and dull the Russian, blank in 2024. Without having started, the tournament is already giving off sparks and the two great contenders, without either of them having competed during the set-up, challenge each other with high swords at the same time that the veteran Nole designs and senses another coup d’état. Why not, he and his people think, now in the slipstream of the two chicks. Because what are 37 years for him, heading towards 38, if not an umpteenth youth?
GOING FOR A RECORD CLOVER
Only a select few have managed to complete the tennis clover, glory in the big four. In fact, quite a few illustrious names—Borg, McEnroe, Connors, Lendl, Wilander, Edberg, Becker, Sampras, among others—remained in the attempt. Other totems had a more or less difficult time, and now Alcaraz has a shot at surpassing them all in terms of precocity.
Until now, the fastest has been Rafael Nadal, who took six seasons: from 2005 to 2010, from Roland Garros to the US Open as a finishing touch. Roger Federer, for his part, was extended one more year, between 2003 and 2008; The Paris arena was the stage that most resisted the Swiss. And Novak Djokovic, the final winner of the great historic career, spent nine years (2008-2016) until he was crowned in the Chatrier.
Andre Agassi himself, admired by Alcaraz himself, could not achieve it until eight years had passed, between 1992-1999. The Spaniard, already a record holder in the ascension to number one, wants to add another distinction, rounding out the collection in four years.
