Carlos Alcaraz confesses to tactical errors in stunning loss to Jannik Sinner

ATP Tour
Carlos Alcaraz tennis

Carlos Alcaraz has admitted that a tactical shift against Jannik Sinner didn’t work out in his favour but gave credit to the Italian for his China Open semi-final win.

Sinner moved ahead in their full ATP Tour head-to-head with a straight sets win in Beijing.

Alcaraz said that some of his tactics backfired but also said that Sinner is a tough player to beat.

“Obviously he also played a great level of tennis, it forced me to change my game a little bit,” ,” Alcaraz told Punto de Break.

“I couldn’t do what I always do, I tried to play deeper, but I couldn’t. I tried to play with another tactic, but it didn’t go well in that part either.

This is another thing I’ll have to learn if I want to beat Jannik. Then in the second set I was mentally out, I was complaining too much, something that really makes it difficult for you to play at your best level, that’s what it means to be angry with yourself. This is what happened.”

Alcaraz believes that Sinner has qualities that make him like the big three with plenty of power backed up by great mobility.

“He is a very complete player, he did almost everything well, he pushes you to the limit with every shot,” Alcaraz said.

“You have to hit every ball perfectly if you want to stay alive at the point. Even if you think you hit the ball very well, very well, he can even return it harder than yours. This is something he does really well, very well. The rest of it is also amazing and the service from it is very good.

“It’s really difficult to play against him, I think his mobility is also very good, you have to find a way to beat him or be dangerous for his tennis. It is complicated, that is why he is one of the best in the world,” Alcaraz said.

Sinner defeated Alcaraz for the second time this season and moved to 4-3 ahead in their ATP Tour head-to-head backing up his Miami Open triumph.

The Italian admitted that he was suprised to run away with the second set but feels that Alcaraz brings out the best in him.

“For sure in the very top [of the big matches I’ve played],” Sinner said.

“I would say every match against him is very tough. We always show great respect, we both play great. When we play against each other, we try to stay on our limits.

“Today I played a little bit better in the important moments. In the second set, it was 6-1 but he had a lot of chances and I just tried to stay focussed. And obviously the first set was a little more of a roller coaster and I tried to stay there mentally and obviously I’m very happy with the performance.”

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Carlos Alcaraz

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