Carlos Alcaraz refused to blame a hamstring injury for his defeat to Jannik Sinner in the ATP Finals and is planning on travelling to Bologna to take part in the Davis Cup finals with Spain this week.
The World No 1 took a medical timeout towards the end of the first set and received heavy strapping on his right leg as Sinner won 7-6 7-5 to defend his ATP Finals title and extend his dominant form on indoor hard-courts.
Alcaraz is set to be part of a Spain team that looks to win the Davis Cup, which starts on Tuesday, from an Italy side who will be without Sinner, who announced last month that he will instead start his off-season early.
Alcaraz looked to be shortening the points after feeling his hamstring but played down its impact afterwards as Sinner defending his title with a 31st consecutive win on indoor hard-courts.
“I felt something the hamstring after trying to catch one serve. I could say didn’t affect me too much, to be honest, because I could run well, I could go to the balls well,” Alcaraz said.
“Obviously, the thoughts about how is going to be if I do crazy things that I’m used to doing, how it’s going to be, those thoughts were in my mind sometimes. But I could play well.
“I’m not going to say I could play better or I could do something better if my hamstring were well. I could play a really good tennis with it. The loss is because he deserved it.
“I didn’t change the plan because of the injury,” Alcaraz continued. “I changed it because I felt that I had to do something else. I’m trying to be as aggressive as I can on court every match, but especially I think even more against Jannik.
“That’s why I’m really happy with the level and the performance that I did today, because I think I did not too many things wrong, which is great. The Davis Cup, yeah, I’m heading off to Bologna tomorrow.”
Sinner secured revenge for his US Open defeat to Alcaraz, with what was just his second victory agaisnt the Spaniard since the start of the 2024 season.
“There is for sure no better ending for the season,” Sinner said after lifting his sixth title of a year that included titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, as well as a three-month ban.
“It has been an incredible season, so many ups, difficult moments obviously for various reasons, finishing the season here in Turin in front of the home crowd against the best player in the world, my biggest rival, it’s amazing.
“The level was very, very high, especially the first set. The tiebreak was a key moment. I got lucky when I broke him back, which gives you a bit of confidence and belief and I’m extremely happy to finish the season like this.”
