Carlos Alcaraz trained for the first time this Monday in Melbourne with Norwegian Casper Ruud, just a few hours after travelling to Australia to get ready for the first Grand Slam of the season.

After arriving in Melbourne on Sunday night, Alcaraz and Ruud have been sharing an indoor court because of the torrential rain that cancelled the opening day of the Australian Open qualifying round on January 14.

Alcaraz and Ruud will play one more exhibition together on Friday before the tournament. This won’t be their only appearance together. With Juan Carlos Ferrero as his coach, Alcaraz is motivated for the Australian Open, which he was unable to participate in the previous year due to injuries.

 

Carlos Alcaraz in 2024

Now the world no.2, Alcaraz played his last match on the 18^th of November 2023 when he capitulated to world no.1 Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-2 in the semifinal in the Nitto ATP Finals (draw).

Currently, during this season Carlos has achieved a compiled 65-12 record.

Alcaraz will compete next at the Australian Open (Australian Open)

. He will start to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 14th of January.

Ruud in Australia, ranking, and results in 2024

Ranked no.11, Casper has achieved a compiled 3-0 record in 2024. The Norwegian ended his run in the round-robin after defeating Adrian Mannarino 6-1 6-4.

Ruud will play next at the Australian Open (Australian Open). He will start from the main draw that will commence on the 14th of January.

Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud played each other 4 times. Their current head to head is 4-0 for Alcaraz. The last time they squared off, Carlos Alcaraz won 6-4 6-2 in the quarter in Beijing (China Open) in October 2023.

In the video below you can watch the highlights.