Carlos Alcaraz lifts the lid on shock defeat with honest confession
At the Canadian Open in Toronto, Tommy Paul got the better of world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz in three sets, snapping his 14-match winning run in a shock few saw coming.
Alcaraz, who didn’t find his best level in three matches in Toronto, said he will “take a lot of lessons” from the run.
The Spaniard allowed Paul to get on top of him with the American winning the race to the net time and again.
Alcaraz still improved on his efforts in last season’s Canadian Open when he was also eliminated by Paul, then in the first match he played.
The world No 1 is intent on looking ahead to Cincinnati as he continues preparation to defend his US Open crown.
“I realise that I didn’t play well in these matches,” said Alcaraz, as he assessed his performances in Canada.
“All I can do is practice to be better. I have some weeks before the US Open.
“Now I have to be focused on Cincinnati. It’s a Masters 1000. It’s a big tournament as well. Obviously, I take a lot of lessons from this tournament.
“I think I did some things well, but probably everything can be better. I always say you can be better in everything even if you’ve played your best matches in your career.
“Right now, I have to improve a lot of things, getting more confidence in my game.”
Alcaraz praised the all-around game of Paul, who really beat him at his own game in Toronto, bringing more energy to the contest.
“He’s certainly a complete player,” said Alcaraz about Paul.
“He’s a really solid player. Has great talent, great shots. He’s really, really fast as well.
“So he’s one of the best players in the world right now. There’s no doubt about it.
“He’s really tough on every surface. I mean, he’s a mix of everything. It makes him really, really tough.”
Carlos Alcaraz has left the door open for Novak Djokovic to snatch the world No 1 ranking in Cincinatti, although the current top man will still have a shot at preventing that from happening.
Paul’s secret weapon against Alcaraz was his confidence.
“I played a really good match today. I really went after my shots,” said Paul.
“You can’t start any points on your heels against him or he’ll take advantage of that. So you really have to go after your shots early in the rally and I was feeling really good on the first-strike tennis. That was the difference today.
“It helps knowing that you can beat your opponent.
“You never want to walk on the court and be like ‘I don’t know if I can beat this guy’. It’s the attitude you’ve got to have no matter who you are playing. I would say it helped a little bit.”
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