Physical surprises caused a mental collapse of Carlos Alcaraz’s game a
(Provided by Tennis World USA)
This wasn’t the first time Carlos Alcaraz had met up with Novak Djokovic and it might not be his last. Last year at the Madrid Open where Carlito’s win built confidence and hope for his future successful matches. This was their first and significant meet.
But this was a Slam and many thought the Spaniard would take the game from the aggressive Serbian and move on to the final. It never happened. “I started the match really nervous,” Alcaraz confessed, shaking his head in disbelief.
“I have never felt something like I did today.” This match had many tangibles, positve and negative that could have driven Alcaraz to only earn a one-set victory in a loss semifinal of 3-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1. The young competitor knew the Serbian’s game and had defeated him once.
He was confident but felt more pressure than Djokovic. Could it be that he’s ranked no. 1 in the world? Was it that he was deemed the superior upcoming ATP guy? A Slam everyone wants to bring their very best game. But as Carlos entered the Court Philippe-Chatrier’s huge stadium, he started feeling an anxiety he hadn’t experienced before.
“I have never felt that tension that I did in that match,” Carlito had explained. He felt Djokovic might have had the edge in playing semifinals. “He has been in that situation multiple times, more than me,” Alcaraz commented.
This might have been why the Serb wasn’t as shaken as the young Spaniard. But Carlos was used to playing many back to back 5-setters during last year’s US Open and he won the title. But now that doesn’t seem relevant. The loss of the opening set gave Carlos the drive to prove to others and himself he could prevail and win sets off of Djokovic.
The second set Alcaraz won 7-5 but it was more his physical well being that started to be compromised. “I started to cramp in my arm. At the beginning of the 3rd set, I started to cramp every part…
Source : tennisworldusa
