This last appearance by Carlos Alcaraz seems strange. After all, the Murcian, already out of the US Open, reflects in the room about a defeat that in the territory of the Grand Slams he has barely experienced for a year. He beat Novak Djokovic in the Paris semifinals and now Daniil Medvedev has beaten him in the New York semifinals; different shape, similar background. A double learning for a tennis player who at 20 years old continues to discover the codes of stardom.
“Roland Garros hurt me more [entonces acalambrado]. Hoy [por este viernes] At least I have been able to fight until the end and I have had my opportunities. The only thing I can reproach myself for is the disconnection I have had,” he answers to journalists. “I am a person who always wants to improve, and in the end you learn more from defeats than from victories. I have to talk to Juan Carlos [Ferrero, su entrenador], but we will try to forget it as soon as possible. The season continues and no one has died,” continues the Murcian.
There is no lack of self-criticism in his speech, a sign of maturity. A few days ago he pointed out that he now saw himself as a more mature player, but he qualified the statement. “I haven’t been able to find solutions,” he says. “I thought it was better in that sense, when the game is not going well, but after this I am going to change my mind. I am not mature enough to handle this type of match, so I have to learn,” continues the Spaniard, who was not surprised by Medvedev’s superb performance. The Russian, leaning both times they had met this season, offered a performance from the back.
“He deserves more than me to be in the final. She has used the parallel backhand a lot, it is a shot that she is very confident with,” she analyzes, “but both forehand and backhand. What did surprise me was the right; He has picked up speed and made very few mistakes with it. He’s one of the best in the world, so you can’t be too impressed with what he does on the court. In the end, Daniil does a lot of things well and makes things super hard for you. But perhaps today he has increased the level compared to what he expected me to do,” he admits.
Hit in the ‘ranking’
Alcaraz emphasizes his sudden collapse in the tiebreaker of the first set. “I have lost my mind, I have played three or four points without control,” he details in English. “I totally lost my mind and I wasn’t able to come back in the second set. I was almost over the moon. These are things that I have to improve if I want to win more Grand Slams, if I want to be one of the best. These are things that cannot happen,” continues the one from El Palmar, who rates this year’s passage through the Grand Slams with a “seven and a half and eight”, finally resolved in 17 wins and two losses.
Absent in Australia due to injury, he reached the semifinals of Roland Garros, triumphed at Wimbledon and stayed in New York in the penultimate round. Taking into account that he was defending the title and Djokovic will earn a huge amount of points – 1,200 or 2,000, if he is crowned on Sunday –, the defeat will further distance him from the Serbian, once again number one as of Monday.
Finally, asked if he will go to Valencia next week to defend Spain in the group stage of the Davis Cup, he left his presence in the air. “I have to see it. It’s been a long and intense tour, so I have to listen to my body; Let’s see what he asks of me and tomorrow we’ll see how I get up,” he says. “I have been taking care of myself more than usual. You have already seen the tapes [cintas protectoras que ha llevado durante el torneo] in the legs. What I can say is that it is a fairly long tour and I need a rest, but tomorrow I will see,” Alcaraz says.
MEDVEDEV: “TO BEAT NOVAK I WILL HAVE TO BE 10 TIMES BETTER THAN IN 2021”
AC | NY
Medvedev is the only player who can boast this season of having beaten Djokovic and Alcaraz. Satisfied with this latest victory, but without ringing the bells, far from it, an exponential leap is required to have options in Sunday’s battle against the Balkan team.
“Novak will be 10 times better than he was that day,” he said, referring to the 2021 final, which he won against the odds, thus avoiding a historic milestone since Nole would have managed to complete the Grand Slam (conquer the four great temples on same year); “So if I want to beat him, I’ll have to be 10 times better than I was that day.”
At the foot of the court, the one from Moscow stated that to defeat Alcaraz “you have to play at a level of 12 out of 10”, and that despite the detours to seal the victory against the Spaniard, he managed to save “four or four” in the decisive straight. five points of break”. She also did it in a circumstance of adversity.
“There were 1,000 Spaniards and with 5-3 [en el cuarto set] They started shouting between the first and second serves. That wasn’t pleasant, but I guess they were desperate, so I’m glad it didn’t help them. Now you can go to sleep…” the finalist joked with his characteristic insight.
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