Carlos Alcaraz will clash against Andrey Rublev on Saturday in Abu Dhabi in the semifinal of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship. The world number 1 hasn’t played a competitive match for more than one month and a half because of an abdominal injury. The issue was so tricky that Carlito renounced playing in the ATP Finals.
During a recent interview in Abu Dhabi, Alcaraz revealed that he feels optimistic about his recovery. He is not at 100 percent right now, but he has normally been training.
“I feel good finally. I had a month to recover well the ab, and right now, I feel almost 100 percent. I have been training normally this past week and I’m feeling great.”
After competing in Abu Dhabi, Carlito will not play in any official tournament before the Australian Open. He will make an appearance in Melbourne at the Kooyong Classic with Jannik Sinner, Alex De Minaur, and Grigor Dimitrov, among the top names.
Carlos Alcaraz in 2022
Now ranked no.1, Alcaraz played his last match on the 4th
of November when he had to retire when playing against world no.11 Holger Rune in the quarter and the scoreline was 6-3 6-6 .Currently, during this season Carlos has achieved a compiled 57-13 match record. The Spaniard conquered 5 titles in 2022 in Rio de Janeiro, Miami, Barcelona, Madrid and U.S. Open. Carlos was the runner-up in Hamburg and Umag.
Andrey Rublev in 2022
At the moment ranked no.8, Andrey played his last match on the 19th of November when he lost to world no.3 Casper Ruud 6-2 6-4 in the semifinal in the Nitto ATP Finals (draw).
Presently, during this year Rublev owns an overall 51-20 win-loss record. Andrey has won 4 titles in 2022 in Marseille, Dubai, Belgrade and Gijon.
Carlos Alcaraz and Andrey Rublev have never squared off.