Carlos Alcaraz was always going to dodge Novak Djokovic in the ATP Finals group stage draw, but he will be relieved to avoid an early clash with Italy’s Jannik Sinner. World No. 2 Alcaraz is in Group B with Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, and Alexander Zverev. While he has no winning record against any of those three opponents, the Spaniard will be hopeful of making progress in Turin if he can regain some of his best form.

Last month, Italian Sinner handed Alcaraz his most complete defeat of the year in China, with the Wimbledon champion acknowledging afterward that he needed to improve his game to overcome the Italian. The earliest he may meet Sinner in a match in front of a noisy Italian home crowd will be the semi-finals, but Alcaraz will need to improve on what he has shown in the last month if he is to advance that far in his maiden appearance at the ATP Finals. He lost to Sinner and Grigor Dimitrov on an unsuccessful trip to China and was then beaten by world No.45 Roman Safiullin in the opening round of last week’s Paris Masters.

Alcaraz has also disclosed that he is carrying an ailment into the final regular event of the ATP season, having withdrawn from last month’s tournament in Basel due to a foot problem. I’m not going to say I’m 100% sure because it could be a lie, said Alcaraz. You know, at this time of year, after a long year, I think practically every player has some issues with their bodies, you know. That’s how I’m feeling. I’m in some discomfort, but I’ve had a fairly nice recuperation these weeks, the young Spaniard expressed.

He was also negative about his physical condition after losing to Safiullin in Paris. I just didn’t feel well, you know, on the court. A lot of things to improve, a lot of things to practice, he said after the shock defeat. You know, I didn’t feel well, you know, in the game. I think I didn’t move well. In the shots, I think I had a good quality of shots, he further added.

I have time before the ATP Finals, and a lot of days of practice to be able to reach that level, the level that I want to play. I have to figure it out and I’ll try to be better in this part of the year, Alcaraz concluded.