Paris (France) (AFP) - Carlos Alcaraz considered this Monday "an advantage to arrive fresh" at the end of the season, after staying four months away from competition due to injury, during the press conference prior to the Paris Masters 1000.

First modification: 02/11/2026 - 20:07

"When you are stopped for a long time and return to the competition, at maximum demands, physical things come out, it is the most normal thing in the world," said the world number 3 in the press room of the Plenitude Arena, on the outskirts of the French capital.

"But I am happy to finally reach this part of the season physically and mentally in a good state, I want to take coming fresh as an advantage," added the 23-year-old Spaniard, about a final stretch of the season in which he has never played his best tennis.

Alcaraz landed in Paris after winning the Vienna tournament on Sunday, his fourth title of a campaign in which he did not compete from mid-April to the end of August due to a right wrist injury.

He had started 2026 with his first Australian Open trophy, in addition to the Doha tournament.

Since his injury he has won 15 of his 17 tournament matches (plus a win at the Laver Cup), with a quarterfinal loss in New York to Ben Shelton and a title in Tokyo in early October.

"Having won in Vienna gives me the necessary confidence to be able to play at a very high level this week," said Alcaraz about a tournament in which he never made it past the quarterfinals in his five appearances.

"But I feel like every indoor court is different... You can feel a certain way playing one week in Vienna and go the next week to another place and feel completely different," he said about an indoor format in which on Sunday he won his second trophy, a far cry from his outdoor figures.

A thorn in the side

"It's a tournament where I really want to shine at some point," said Alcaraz about a Paris Masters 1000 in which in 2025 he was eliminated by Cameron Norrie in his first match.

"I have never played my best tennis here, but I don't see any specific reason not to... Some years I have arrived in Paris without feeling 100%, especially on a mental level. But other times I was impatient to play here and even so I have lost in the first or second round, without playing good tennis," he acknowledged.

"Tomorrow I'm going to train, try to regain a good feeling, feel the ball as best as possible and give myself the best opportunity to play good tennis on Wednesday," added the number 3, who will face the Czech Jiri Lehecka (15th) or the American Alex Michelsen (35th) in his debut in the tournament, in the second round.

Finally, the winner of seven Grand Slam tournaments reflected on how he lived the four months he was away from the circuit.

"It has been a long process, I was out of the game for a while, I had time to reflect and there were moments in which I was sure that I would recover my best level. In others I told myself: 'Maybe it will be difficult for me to really play at 100% again' and I had doubts about whether I would recover my health," he explained.

© 2026 AFP

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