Carlos Alcaraz to still play Davis Cup despite hamstring scare in Jannik Sinner defeat

Jannik Sinner got the better of his great rival Alcaraz to successfully defend his ATP Finals title in a thrilling final that saw Alcaraz receive treatment for a hamstring problem.

He was surprisingly candid about the injury as he met the media, as the French Open and US Open champion insisted he would not use the injury as an excuse for his defeat against Sinner.

"I felt something the hamstring after trying to catch one serve," he said. "I could say didn't affect me too much, to be honest, because I could run well, I could go to the balls well.

"Obviously, the thoughts about how is going to be if I do crazy things that I'm used to doing, how it's going to be, those thoughts were in my mind sometimes. But I could play well.

"I'm not going to say I could play better or I could do something better if my hamstring were well. I could play a really good tennis with it. The loss is because he deserved it."

He was asked whether he had to change his approach to the match after the injury and did his best to play down it's significance.

"I didn't change the plan because of the injury," he insisted.

"I changed it because I felt that I had to do something else. I'm trying to be as aggressive as I can on court every match, but especially I think even more against Jannik.

"That's why I'm really happy with the level and the performance that I did today, because I think I did not too many things wrong, which is great."

Alcaraz has been selected to play for Spain in the Davis Cup Finals in Boligna next week and while it may appear to be a risk to play in the event, he still has plans to take the short trip across Italy from Turin.

"The Davis Cup, yeah, I'm heading off to Bologna tomorrow," he added.

Alcaraz's intention to play in the Davis Cup Finals may be clear, but he will have to assess whether his hamstring problem becomes more of an issue over the next couple of days.

Spain's first match in the eight-team competition is due to take place next Thursday, when they take on Czechia.

That means Alcaraz will have some time to assess whether he is fit to play for his country in an event that will not feature Sinner, after he opted against playing for Italy after leading them to Davis Cup glory over the last couple of years.

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