Carlos Alcaraz He began his first participation in an ATP Finals with a loss. The Murcian fell to Alexander Zverev 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4which represents his third straight loss after those suffered at the recent Shanghai Masters 1000 and Paris-Bercy.
After the match, the world number 2 admitted that he had to “improve a lot of things. He trained well, with a good feeling, I feel good physically, but I don’t feel good at the tennis level“.
“The year was very long and demanding. I need to improve to reach this point of the year in a better state, especially mentally.. I attribute these losses mainly to mental fatigue, from reaching such high demands for so long. If I want to win this title one day or finish the year as number 1, I have to improve and get to this point with the desire to win whatever is given to me,” he stressed.
One of his rivals at this ATP Finals also spoke about Alcaraz’s moment of form, Daniel Medvedev. The Russian, who debuted with a solid 6-4, 6-2 victory over compatriot Andrey Rublev, explained that “Two or three months ago I would have been surprised if Sascha had beaten Carlos, but tennis is a very, very complicated sport.“and gave his opinion on what he thought was happening to the Spaniards.
“At this moment, for some reason, it feels like Alcaraz is playing slower than usual and lacks confidence like the rest of the season.. It can happen to anyone, even Novak, when he was younger he went through similar moments. It was surprising to see how Sascha’s shots were faster than him in the second set. The question is when will he return to his best level,” said the former world number 1 who faces Alcaraz on Friday on the final day of the Red Group.
Alcaraz didn’t want to make excuses after losing to Zverev, but he did He reflected on a playing surface he didn’t seem to like.
“It’s the fastest of the year, that’s for sure. I don’t know why they put this kind of surface at the end of the year because all the tournaments we played on the hard court were slow. We go here and they give us this one very quickly. I won’t say if they should have an outdoor or indoor tournament, but I don’t understand the speed of the surface because we don’t play on a court like that all year,” Alcaraz analyzed, also criticizing the constant change in types of balls.from one week to the next.
With two games ahead, against Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev, he maintains his chances of reaching the semifinals. “This defeat does not leave me undone, so I have opportunities to continue to improve and pass. I have to study the things I didn’t do well today, which is quite a lot. The second serve. And although the track is very fast, the consistency. At the end of the second set and the beginning of the third, I dropped a few points in the first,” he lamented.
Source: La Verdad
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