Carlos Alcaraz questions ATP Finals court following debut defeat
Carlos Alcaraz has criticised the court at the ATP Finals, questioning why it is so much faster than the others on the Tour.
Alcaraz was making his ATP Finals debut in Turin, but it did not go well as he was toppled 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4) by Alexander Zverev.
His wasted a number of break points during the match, many of which were won by thunderous Zverev serves skipping off the quick court, which likely added to his frustration.
“I don’t know why they put this kind of surface at the end of the year because all the tournaments that we have played on hard court is so, so slow,” he said.
“Then we come here to the (ATP Finals) and they put this court, so fast. I don’t know why.”
Zverev, meanwhile, was more than happy to take the win, and he said he knew from the start just how crucial his serve was going to be on the day.
“I’m not going to win a lot of baseline rallies against Carlos Alcaraz,” Zverev said. “So I knew I had to make a lot of first serves.”
Carlos Alcaraz joins ATP criticism of balls
Carlos Alcaraz also took the opportunity to join some high-profile colleagues in calling for the ATP to review its ball policy for next year.
The ATP currently use different balls for different tournaments, but players have claimed the constant change is contributing to arm injuries and forcing players to take time away from the court.
Novak Djokovic revealed last week that he has held personal talks with Andrea Gaudenzi over the issue, while Daniil Medvedev, Stan Wawrinka and Taylor Fritz have also voiced concerns.
Alcaraz has how joined those calling for change, and he has offered a solution as well.
“Well, they should do something about it ’cause it’s unbelievable that if we play three or four tournaments in a row, we play four tournaments with different ball.
Daniil Medvedev says the balls used in Beijing are ‘a joke’ after beating Ugo Humbert:
“All the match was pretty up & down.. These balls on hardcourts are a joke. 3rd set I lose my serve & I win 6-1. It’s not normal. But we’ve played like this all year. So okay” ? pic.twitter.com/zArCuKPAea
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) October 2, 2023
“Every swing should play with the same ball. For example, Australia, the tournaments in Australia, with the same ball, and then come to South America with the same ball, America with the same ball. Every swing should play with the same ball and not change in every tournament.
“I think if I hear well, we’ve played with 20 or 21 different balls, something like that, in a year. It’s crazy. There are a lot of players that got injured because of that.
“If the ATP want the best players in every tournament, they should change it. If not, every player’s going to be injured because of that.”
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