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Carlos Alcaraz only has one indoor hardcourt title to his name- the Rotterdam Open, which he clinched earlier this year by defeating Alex de Minaur in three sets. The last Masters 1000 of the season, the Paris Masters, is also an indoor hardcourt event, the main draw of which is scheduled to start on October 27. Alcaraz made his Paris Masters debut in 2021, and since then, he has not once reached the semifinals, producing his best when he played the quarterfinals in 2022. Last year, he lost in the third round to France’s Ugo Humbert. Alcaraz recently lost an indoor event. It was the Six Kings Slam exhibition event, where in the final, he was no match for Jannik Sinner, losing the $6 million to him for the second consecutive time. Also, the Spaniard has never tasted success at the ATP Finals, which is also an indoor hardcourt event. He produced his best in the year-end championships when he reached the semifinals in 2023. Last year, he failed to progress to the last four. At the pre-tournament press conference in Paris, Alcaraz admitted he needs a great deal of improvement in indoor conditions. Well, I wouldn’t say I’m bad playing indoors. I think other players are better than me on indoor side. It’s a huge difference saying that. I see myself practicing, playing matches that I can play really good tennis, but obviously, there are some matches that I played against someone that they are playing much, much better in indoor than I do. So I have to be ready for that, but I think I will get the good tennis on indoor. Alcaraz will lock horns with Britain’s Cameron Norrie or Argentina’s Sebastian Baez in the second round to kick-start his campaign. It will be his first official match since the Japan Open final, where he defeated Taylor Fritz to clinch his maiden title in the event. After Tokyo, Alcaraz was forced to withdraw from the Shanghai Masters because of an injury he suffered during his debut match at the Japan Open. In Paris, Alcaraz will chase his ninth Masters 1000 of his career. Three of his eight Masters 1000s he lifted this year in Monte Carlo, Rome, and Cincinnati. Carlos Alcaraz picks his favorite tournaments between the Paris Masters, ATP Finals, and Davis Cup In the pre-tournament press conference, Carlos Alcaraz was asked to pick which tournament is his favorite between the Paris Masters, ATP Finals, and the Davis Cup. The six-time Grand Slam champion chose the team event as he features in it alongside his national teammates.
