Carlos Alcaraz’s two ATP Finals matches have been a microcosm of his recent up-and-down form

So far in Turin, we’ve seen the two faces of Carlos Alcaraz.

On Monday, as it gradually became clear that he wasn’t going to mount a comeback against Casper Ruud, Alcaraz stared blankly down at the court as he walked from point to point. That look—a mix of incomprehension, apprehension and disappointment—appears just about every time he has an off day.

On Wednesday, after he turned things around with a well-earned win over Andrey Rublev, Alcaraz finished with a much happier expression. Walking toward his player box, he pumped his fists and cried “Vamos!” over and over. This is his traditional way of celebrating—intense and emotional, but also controlled.

The fact that Alcaraz has already put us on a roller-coater at the ATP’s year-end championships seems fitting, because it has been that kind of season for the 21-year-old, especially during its second half.

This has been a year of towering highs—most obviously, his Channel Slam at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, along with wins at Indian Wells and Beijing, a singles silver medal at the Olympics and the anchor role for Team Europe’s win in Laver Cup.

At the same time, Alcaraz hasn’t smoothed out his peaks and valleys in 2024, or shaken his reputation for unpredictability. He lost early in Cincinnati, at the US Open and the Paris Masters. And while he has a 5-1 record against Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev this season, he has fallen behind them in the rankings.

Alcaraz has also been fighting a couple of headwinds this week: His physical condition, as well as the conditions around him. He has been sick, and said he had an upset stomach before his loss to Ruud. Against Rublev, he wore a pink nasal strip to help with his breathing. According to him, though, knowing he had to ignore his illness may have helped him focus.

“I surprised myself,” Alcaraz said after his 6-3, 7-6 (8) win over Rublev. “The way that I played today from the baseline, with my serve. I was really calm. I just tried to be focused on my game and what I had to do and forget about that I’m not feeling well and that I’m sick.”

Alcaraz also says that, like his countryman Rafael Nadal, he doesn’t feel comfortable indoors.

“I have no experience playing on indoor courts,” Alcaraz said. “I could practice a lot on indoor courts, but I have not matches in my back on indoor courts. So I don't know. I have to be better on this part of the year that we play on indoor courts.”

The fact that Alcaraz has already put us on a roller-coater at the ATP’s year-end championships seems fitting.

Despite that, Alcaraz did make the semifinals in Turin last year, and he beat a dialed-in and unusually composed Rublev on Tuesday. The back-and-forth second-set tiebreaker, which Alcaraz won 10-8, could serve as a microcosm of what makes Alcaraz so thrilling—and occasionally frustrating—to watch.

Alcaraz started with a series of winning serves and forehands to go up 4-1. Then he missed two backhands to let Rublev get back to 4-3. Then he won a wild, scrambling point by rifling a backhand winner to make it 5-3. Then he double-faulted for 5-4 and went for too much on a forehand to make it 5-5.

At 5-6, he saved a set point with a perfect serve-forehand combination. At 6-6, he hit an ace to reach match point. But at 7-7, he drilled the easiest of forehand volleys straight into the net to give Rublev a set point. Finally, at 8-8 and 9-8, he hit forehands that Rublev had no chance of returning.

Like a lot of Alcaraz matches, it may have taken longer than it should have, but he gathered himself when he had to. He hit 31 winners to Rublev’s 14, and he had his drop shot working.

“I had many options on my mind,” he said. “If I move well, run well from the baseline, I have more options. I’m really happy that ‘Option A’ of just running and playing good points from the baseline, I made it happen.”

Alcaraz also admitted what some had noticed this fall: He has tweaked his backhand by abbreviating the take-back. He said he hadn’t talked to his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, about it, and hadn’t really practiced it.

“I just started to feel comfortable doing it, without thinking about it,” he said. “I just did it a little bit different, and it started to feel well.”

Maybe that’s Alcaraz in a nutshell: If it feels good, he does it, and in the end it usually works out well.