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The Spaniard isn't sure what he's dealing with in terms of his abdominal injury, but he hopes to put it behind him by next week.
By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday, November 4, 2022

After a season full of milestones and breakthroughs, complete with a maiden major title, two Masters 1000 titles and 57 wins from 70 ATP matches, Carlos Alcaraz is finally beginning to show some wear and tear.

The World No.1 entered the Paris Masters with a slight issue with his left knee, deemed very minor, and ended with a larger issue in his abdominal region which forced his retirement during the second set tiebreak of his match with Holger Rune on Friday.

Now, with only the ATP Finals left to play (kick off is November 13) Alcaraz is forced to contemplate the next steps.

He told reporters after his loss on Friday that he felt it was best to pull the plug on his highly anticipated quarterfinal with fellow teenager Rune.

A tough ending to an exciting encounter…

Respect between @holgerrune2003 & @carlosalcaraz after Carlitos retires from their quarter-final clash pic.twitter.com/ds6uRo8EH0

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 4, 2022

“Is something wrong on the abdominal,” Alcaraz said. “At the end of the set, it was wrong. It was getting wrong, and I preferred to retire and see it, and take care about it.”

Alcaraz is still hopeful that he’ll be able to make a full recovery ahead of the ATP Finals, but first he’ll undergo tests to the region.

“I have the Nitto Finals. Right now I have some tests on how it's gonna be before Turin, but right now I'm focused on trying to get better in the abdominal and trying to be at 100 percent in Turin,” he said.

Alcaraz, who appeared to suffer the injury in the 11th game of the second set, took a medical timeout during the changeover at 6-5, swallowed some pills and received treatment. He later explained the pain was hampering most of his strokes.

“I cannot stretch,” he said. “I mean, I couldn't serve well. I couldn't hit the forehand well. When I turn the body, I feel it. So I feel the abdominal in so many movements. Yeah, I was thinking about it. And, yeah, playing like that with some problems and some things in my mind, it's better to retire.”

The Spaniard, who still is the frontrunner when it comes to locking up the ATP’s year-end No.1 ranking, says he has experienced problems in the abdominal area before, but he’s not sure if the previous issues are the same as what he has suffered today.

“It is in a zone that I have problems before,” he said. “As I said, I'm gonna do some tests in the abdominal and let's see if it's the same problem as I felt before or no.”

Alcaraz still leads Rafael Nadal by 1,000 points in the Race, which means that Nadal would likely have to reach the final or win the title in Turin to overtake his compatriot. Stefanos Tsitsipas is still mathematically in the hunt, but he’d need to reach at least the semifinals in Paris to have any chance – he would close to within 1470 points if he can win today in Paris (against Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals).

Djokovic hopes that faster conditions in Paris won't slow him down.
By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday, October 30, 2022

Paris has always felt like a second home to Novak Djokovic, especially Bercy, a right bank enclave in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, which holds the Accor Arena, the venue in which the Paris Masters is played.

Djokovic owns six titles in Bercy, at the Rolex Paris Masters, but to win a seventh he’ll have to endure quicker conditions on the indoor hard courts.

“I like the conditions,” the 21-time major champion said. “Even though I must say after a few practice sessions this year, the conditions are different from last year. I spoke to tournament director (Cédric Pioline), and he told me that they increased the speed of the court. “I could feel that. Just takes a little bit of time to adjust to that.”

Vainqueur six fois ici, @DjokerNole tentera d'aller chercher un nouveau succès à Paris ! #RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/W6bjE706aR

— ROLEX PARIS MASTERS (@RolexPMasters) October 30, 2022

Any adjustment that needs to be made will be approached with confidence. Djokovic has hit his stride in the second half of the season and he hopes to continue the momentum in Paris.

“In the second part of the season I feel different on the court in a positive way,” he said. “The first part of the year with everything that has happened in Australia, I just felt challenged, very much emotionally, mentally off the court, and it was affecting my game. I was kind of finding my way to that desired level of tennis, and that happened, I think, towards the end of the clay season I start to play really well.”

Djokovic, who won his 21st major title at Wimbledon, where he is a seven-time champion now, said his performance on the grass has fueled him this season.

“Wimbledon always comes at the right time in my career, when I need that huge confidence boost and big title, Wimbledon is always there,” the 35-year-old said. “That obviously was also a huge relief with everything that has happened this season.”

Looking relaxed at first practice session ✌️ @DjokerNole #RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/L5A3KlDxQL

— ROLEX PARIS MASTERS (@RolexPMasters) October 29, 2022

Djokovic in Nadal’s Half in Bercy

The sixth-seeded Serb is in a tricky half of the draw that also includes Rafael Nadal.

Here is Djokovic’s path to a seventh Paris Masters title (if the seeds hold).

R1 – Bye
R2 – Maxime Cressy or Diego Schwartzman
R16 – [11] Jannik Sinner
QF – [3] Ruud
SF – [2] Nadal
F – [1] Alcaraz

The Serb is the all-time Masters 1000 title leader with 38. Nadal has 36.

The Russian showed his sensitive side after tackling Denis Shapovalov for the Vienna title. By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday, October 30, 2022

Daniil Medvedev has spoken often in the last week about the joy of witnessing the birth of his first child earlier in October. On Sunday, after winning his 15th title in Vienna with a three-set victory over Denis Shapovalov he dedicated his victory to his wife, Daria.

“I’m gonna dedicate this title to my wife,” an emotional Medvedev said. “Because she gave me the most beautiful present ever, my daughter. I was there and these emotions are much more than winning any title.”

'I'm gonna dedicate [this title] to my wife because she gave me the most beautiful present – my daughter' 🥺@DaniilMedwed #ErsteBankOpen pic.twitter.com/DYfpCwRp1O

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 30, 2022

The positive vibes appear to be spilling over to Medvedev’s tennis. He was in impressive form this week in Vienna, winning the biggest title of his season. He also qualified for the ATP Finals in Turin, where he is the 2020 champion – and contender to bring home another title.

Medvedev, who will rise to No.3 in next week’s rankings, improves to 45-15 on the season.

“This match was the best of the week because Denis was really playing unreal until probably 4-3 in the second set,” Medvedev said on Sunday. “He dropped his level by maybe two per cent and I was able to use it. This is one of the best victories when you know your opponent is on top of you, but you try and stay there and do what you can.

“I am looking forward to the last two tournaments of the year which are really important and I usually play well.”

The Canadian is picking up the pace this month. By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday, October 22, 2022

Felix Auger-Aliassime is closing in on his third title of 2023 – and a first trip to the Nitto ATP Finals.

The Canadian, who took down Richard Gasquet in straight sets on Saturday in Antwerp, 7-6(2), 7-6(3), created some distance between himself and Hubert Hurkacz and Taylor Fritz in the race for the final spot to the ATP’s prestigious season-ending championships.

Auger-Aliassime now leads Fritz by 240 points; he leads Hurkacz by 355 points.

If the World No.10 wins his final on Sunday against Sebastian Korda, he will add another 100 points to his total.

The 22-year-old has never qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals before. He is 47-24 on the season with two titles in 2022. He is also 18-4 indoors.

Back to back finals mood 😁👊🏽
One more step to go 💪🏽 Let’s keep pushing

See you all tomorrow 😉🎾

📸: Kristof Van Accom pic.twitter.com/4XIQNPYPzk

— Félix AugerAliassime (@felixtennis) October 22, 2022

Auger-Aliassime will play an ATP 500 in Basel next week, while Hurkacz and Fritz are both in the 500 Vienna draw.

In the final week of the season, all three players will take their place in the final Masters 1000 event of the season at the Paris Masters draw.

Cameron Norrie, Matteo Berrettini, Pablo Carreno Busta, Jannik Sinner, Marin Cilic and others still have a mathematical chance to qualify as well.

The Russian will take his place in the Erste Bank Open draw for the second time. By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday, October 22, 2022

Daniil Medvedev, last seen retiring from the semifinals of the Astana Open against Novak Djokovic due to an injury, will play next week’s Erste Bank Open in Vienna.

His agent, Olivier Van Lindonk, confirmed the news in an email.

“Today, Daniil decided with his medical team to play Vienna,” he wrote. “He will get there this weekend.”

While facing Djokovic in Kazakhstan, Medvedev said he felt a pop in his adductor during the second-set tiebreak. His retirement left Djokovic surprised. But Medvedev, who had won the opening set from Djokovic, knew he was in trouble the moment he heard the pop.

No. 4 seed 🇷🇸 @DjokerNole advances to the final after Medvedev is forced to retire due to injury.

Final score: 4-6, 7-6(6).@ktf_kz | #AstanaOpen pic.twitter.com/zOLOqzu4V0

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 8, 2022

“It’s the second time in my life I retired like this with a pulled muscle,” fourth-ranked Medvedev said after the match. “So here, on the second point of the tie-break, I felt a little bit [of a] strange pop in my adductor. I first thought maybe it is cramp and after the point I was like, `No, probably not a cramp.’

“And during the tie-break, I felt I can play like five, 10 more points but that’s it,” he said. “If I play one more set, you can do it, but you can probably miss half a year instead of one month.”

‼️ MAIN DRAW‼️ is out! Which first-round pairing is your favourite? 🎾🔥 #ErsteBankOpen #Vienna #glaubandich #atpVienna @atptour pic.twitter.com/8do6WZhAfD

— Erste Bank Open (@ErsteBankOpen) October 22, 2022

Medvedev will join a field that includes Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, Cameron Norrie and Dominic Thiem, Jannik Sinner, Taylor Fritz, Matteo Berrettini and more.

The Russian will face Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round and will face Dominic Thiem or Tommy Paul in the second round if he advances.

Medvedev will make his second appearance at Vienna. He reached the quarterfinals in 2022 before bowing out to Kevin Anderson.

The American's amazing 2022 keeps getting better, and 18-year-old Gauff is following in her footsteps. By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday, October 14, 2022

Jessica Pegula will be pulling double duty at this year’s WTA Finals in Fort Worth.

The American clinched her berth in the doubles, alongside partner Coco Gauff on Thursday night in San Diego, as the pair got past Liudmila Samsonova and Sofia Kenin, 6-2, 7-6(3).

We've got 3️⃣ doubles teams joining the @WTAFinals lineup 🏁

🇺🇸 @CocoGauff & @JLPegula 🇺🇸

The American duo captured the doubles title in Doha, Toronto and reached the finals at Roland-Garros. pic.twitter.com/yc0XFU8Cyn

— wta (@WTA) October 14, 2022

Gauff, who is currently fourth in the WTA singles race, could ensure singles qualification with an upset win over Iga Swiatek on Friday in San Diego. Even if she can’t get past the World No.1 the 18-year-old is in the driver’s seat to join Pegula in the field.

“It’s a huge achievement for me in both singles and doubles,” Pegula said. “And to do it with another American is really cool. I’m just super-happy. It’s paying off, all my hard work and all the matches I’ve played this year. It’s been a long year, and it’s just a great reward.”

Pegula, who reached the singles semifinals in San Diego on Friday with a win over Madison Keys, has played 91 matches in 2022.

She is 36-16 in singles and 29-10 in doubles.

Five doubles teams have already qualified for the WTA Finals, which will begin on October 31.

• Krejcikova / Siniakova
• Dabrowski / Olmos
• Kichenok/ Ostapenko
• Kudermetova / Mertens
• Pegula / Gauff

Kudermetova, currently in 8th in the singles race, could join Pegula and Gauff as players to be entered in both singles and doubles.

The Austrian, like the rest of the ATP, is concerned about keeping up with Alcaraz.
By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday, October 14, 2022

Dominic Thiem says that the rest of the tennis world is going to have to play catchup when it comes to competing with rising Carlos Alcaraz on the ATP Tour.

“He already has a unique career,” Thiem said in a wide-ranging interview with AS of Spain. “He is the youngest number one in history and winner of the US Open as a teenager, exceptional. He is about to change tennis, because in New York, no matter how long the matches went on, he was there the whole time, playing offense, going to the net and contesting every point without fear. And I think this is new. Nobody did that before. we must catch up.”

This interview with the Dominator (Thiem) is worth a translate, for sure.https://t.co/1xwYTQD6VL

— Chris Oddo (@TheFanChild) October 14, 2022

On Rafa Being His Comeback Role Model

Thiem, who is into the semifinals this weekend in Gijon, Spain, also talked about the inspiration he has received from Rafael Nadal during his comeback from a wrist in injury in 2022.

“He is probably the best role model for this experience, since he did it not only once, but four or five times to come back from a long time of injury of six months, or even more,” Thiem said. “And the form was always amazing. So he is a great inspiration.”

Thiem, who says his goal is to reach the Top-100 before the end of the season, says he is ready to start playing with pressure, rather than low expectations.

“You have to start doing it, because the pressure at the end helps you recover the good performances,” he said.

The Austrian says he hopes to be back in the mix at the top of the sport next season.

“I have the belief that I can do it,” he said. “If not, I would give up my career,’ he said. “I was at the top, among the top three in the ranking. And I do have the feeling that I am capable of fighting again for the big titles, for the Slams, and to beat anyone. Otherwise, all this hard work would be meaningless to me. I hope next year I can do it.”

Veronika Kudermetova pulls ahead of Maria Sakkari this week, but there is much high-stakes tennis to be played. By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday, October 10, 2022

The Race to the WTA Finals is heating up nicely, with just two weeks of pivotal tennis to be played before the Fort Worth field is determined.

This week’s 500 in San Diego is already underway (as well as the 250 in Transylvania), with seven of the Top-10 in action, and next week’s 1000 event, the Guadalajara Open in Akron, should be even bigger, with 17 of the Top 20 entered in the field.

This week’s Race sees Daria Kasatkina move up to No.6, while Veronika Kudermetova moves into the last qualification spot by leapfrogging Maria Sakkari – but the Russian only holds a slim 69 point advantage.

Here are the current Race to Fort Worth standings, as of Monday October 10:

Swiatek, 9865 (qualified)
Jabeur, 4555 (qualified)
Pegula, 3232
Gauff, 2983
Garcia, 2896
Kasatkina, 2885
Sabalenka 2871
Halep, 2661 (not playing)
Kudermetova, 2606
—————————————
Sakkari, 2537
Bencic, 2360
Badosa, 2264
Keys, 2214
Kontaveit, 2093
Haddad Maia, 2050
Kvitova, 2038
Collins, 1997
Alexandrova, 1910
Ostapenko, 1882
Krejcikova, 1849

With so many points on the line over the next two weeks, it is impossible to count out any of the Top-20 in the race. A title in Guadalajara or even San Diego for that matter, could change the race dramatically.