Alcaraz: "I have to reach this point of the year in better mental conditions"

Carlos Alcaraz's tennis has lost its festive character as the season has progressed, as if it had become too long.. A new example of this was his defeat in his debut at the ATP Finals, whose last edition he could not compete due to being injured.. Various adverse circumstances came together for the winner this year at Wimbledon, Indian Wells, Madrid, Barcelona, Queen's and Buenos Aires. Under the inertia of the poor results since he lost to Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals of the United States Open, Alcaraz made his debut in the masters tournament on the traditional indoor surface, where he has his worst overall record, with 17 victories and now eight defeats. Opposite him was Alexander Zverev, the champion in 2018 and 2021, a man with better indoor skills, where he has won seven of his 21 titles.

“This is the fastest surface of the entire year, without a doubt. “I don't understand why they choose this surface at the end of the season when all the tournaments we have played on hard have been on a much slower terrain,” he noted, without disparaging his opponent and making self-criticism about his own performance.. “I have to analyze the things that I haven't done well, which are quite a few, including the second serve. I haven't been consistent either.. At the end of the second set and at the beginning of the third I threw several balls out at the first. “I look at Djokovic and he doesn't give you any points the first time.”

There has been, perhaps, a certain decompression once the options of finishing for the second consecutive year as number 1 became more complicated, one of the objectives he had as the culmination of his excellent season.. “If I want to win this title one day or close the year on a high, I have to improve and come to this part with the desire to win whatever I put my way.”. I have to reach this point of the year in better conditions, especially mentally.. “I attribute these defeats above all to mental fatigue, to carrying very high demands for so long.”

Losing streak

Alcaraz, which has a record of 63 wins and 11 losses in 2023, has lost four of its last nine games. He fell from the start with Roman Saffiulin in Paris-Bercy, after losing to Grigor Dimitrov in the round of 16 in Shanghai and with Jannik Sinner in the semifinals in Beijing. The setback against Zverev can still be amended, given that the tournament is played by the round robin system. “It is powerful in every blow. His right hand is one of the best on the circuit. “He hits each ball one hundred percent for three or four hours,” he said about Andrey Rublev, fifth seed, who will face this Wednesday for the first time in his career with the urgency of winning to keep his chances of being in the semifinals alive. waiting for Friday's duel with Medvedev, who completes the Red Group.

The world number two also addressed the controversy over balls, one of the most controversial issues in recent weeks. “They should do something, because it is incredible that we play three or four tournaments in a row with a different ball. It's crazy. There are many tennis players who get injured because of it. Each tour should be played with the same ball. “If the ATP wants the best players in every tournament, it should change it.”

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