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Carlos Alcaraz\u00a0will make his ATP Finals debut against Alexander Zverev on Monday, almost three years after their first meeting in Acapulco. At the time, Alcaraz was ranked at No 132 in the world and he managed to win just four games in the one-sided defeat. Zverev later claimed that the Spaniard would be a top-10 player by 2024 – a big underestimation\u00a0given that Alcaraz became the youngest-ever ATP world No 1 last September.<\/p>\n
Alcaraz and Zverev are set to renew their rivalry in Turin as the world No 2 makes his debut at the season-ending tournament and the German returns for the first time since lifting the trophy in 2021, having been injured last year. They are currently all square at 3-3 in their head-to-head, with the 20-year-old winning three of the last four meetings.<\/p>\n
The Spaniard is worlds away from the player he was when they faced off for the first time at the Mexico Open in March 2021, when Alcaraz was aged just 17 and needed a wildcard to enter the tournament. And he has also already proven Zverev wrong as the 26-year-old thought it would take three years for Alcaraz to enter the world\u2019s top 10.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is 17 years old and everyone is looking at him right now,\u201d Zverev said after beating the then-world No 132 6-3 6-1 in the first round. \u201cI remember when I was 17, coming out on tour and, he is playing incredible tennis. My guess is that he is going to be top 10 by 2024, in three years\u2019 time when he is 20.\u201d<\/p>\n
Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive tennis news<\/strong><\/p>\n Just in <\/strong> Tsitsipas makes unusual ‘elastic girl’ comment as star addresses injury rumours[LATEST] <\/strong><\/p>\n While the world No 8 was full of praise for Alcaraz – even comparing him to Rafael Nadal – he clearly underestimated his rival\u2019s talents as Alcaraz has since gone on to win two Grand Slam titles and has already reached No 1 in the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n At the time, Zverev added: \u201cHe plays extremely well, moves well and hits the ball very hard, so I think he has a bright future ahead. I think he will move up the rankings quite quickly.\u201d And Alcaraz did shoot up the rankings at a rapid rate – much faster than the 26-year-old expected.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/72\/590x\/secondary\/Alcaraz-17-5062462.jpg?r=1699817626727\")
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