WATCH - Carlos Alcaraz's show at Madison Square Garden (2025)

Carlos Alcaraz has been having fun in the last few days, before starting to prepare for next season. The former world number 1 had the privilege of playing an exhibition match against Ben Shelton at Madison Square Garden in New York, winning 'The Garden Cup' and giving fans the usual great show.

Worthy of applause. 👏 #TheGardenCup | @carlosalcaraz pic.twitter.com/4rcBTBc2dn

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) December 5, 2024

A player like Carlitos is always exceptional on tennis court, having many solutions and a certain predilection for an electrifying game. The match against Shelton yesterday will not be the last of 2024 for the Spanish champion, who will face the other American Frances Tiafoe in Charlotte tomorrow.

Alcaraz's 2024 was very brilliant, considering that he won two more Grand Slam titles (Roland Garros and Wimbledon), the Indian Wells Masters 1000 for the second year in a row and the ATP 500 in Beijing after defeating his great rival Jannik Sinner in one of the most exciting matches of the entire year.

As if that were not enough, the 21-year-old from Murcia also shone at the Paris Olympics by winning the silver medal. The 4-time Grand Slam champion was the top favorite to win the gold medal, but a stratospheric version of Novak Djokovic in the final forced him to postpone his dream.

Carlitos' main goalin2025

It's no secret that the Spaniard's main goal in 2025 is to improve in terms of consistency. The world number 3 still has too many ups and downs during the year and this prevents him from approaching the top of the ATP ranking. Sinner has risen to a new dimension in 2024 by winning eight titles and suffering only six defeats, which is why Carlitos will have to find new solutions to prevent his great rival from detaching him further.

The former world No. 1 will start the new season directly at the Australian Open, before playing the prestigious Rotterdam ATP 500 for the first time in his career. Alcaraz will not only be followed by Juan Carlos Ferrero next year, but also by Samuel Lopez – former coach of Pablo Carreno Busta – as second coach (starting from Rotterdam).

“I think Samuel, for me, is one of the best coaches that we have on tour,” the current world No 3 explained.

“They trust each other 100 percent and being able to travel with both, for me, it’s going to be great. I think I’m going to grow as a player thanks to them. I think we are going to work pretty hard and pretty good for the next season and the next years. Hopefully we are going to make good results together” – he added.

The young Spaniard will be one of the most anticipated players at the next Australian Open, which will take place at Melbourne Park from 12 to 26 January. As in recent seasons, the 21-year-old from Murcia has chosen not to play any official tournament before the Happy Slam.

Alcaraz is ready for the 2025 AO

Alcaraz will practice hard at the Juan Carlos Ferrero's academy before leaving for Australia, where he wants to improve on the quarterfinals reached this year.

“I’m sure I’ll be Australian champion sooner or later,” Alcaraz said. “Hopefully it will be this year.

“For me, it is very important to complete the remaining Slam” – he concluded.

The AO is the only Major tournament that Carlos has not yet won, which is why he will give his all to achieve this feat and win his fifth Grand Slam title.

Despite the peaks reached this season, the Spaniard finished in third position in the ATP ranking with a huge gap from Sinner.Carlitos' level has not been exceptional in the latter part of 2024, with the exception of his amazing ride in Beijing.

The 4-time Grand Slam champion was defeated by Tomas Machac at the Rolex Shanghai Masters and played really poorly at the Rolex Paris Masters, where he surrendered to local idol Ugo Humbert in the round of 16. Alcaraz was not lucky at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, where a flu virus affected his performance and condemned him to elimination already in the group stage.

The Spaniard dreamed of at least dragging his country to the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, so as to give one last joy to his illustrious compatriot Rafa Nadal, but Spain's run already ended against Netherlands on Day 1.

Carlos is just 21 years old and has plenty of time to improve technically and mentally. Alcaraz and Nadal are very different from each other, but the young Spaniard could learn from his compatriot how to maintain the same level of intensity for an extended period of time. Perhaps this is Carlitos' main weakness right now.