Carlos Alcaraz at a loss for words over Toronto slump – ‘I started feeling bad’
Carlos Alcaraz survived a big test from Hubert Hurkacz at the Canadian Open and he admitted afterwards that he was baffled by his slide in the final set.
The world No 1 was given a scare by the big-serving Hurkacz as the Pole won the opening set and then also came back from a 5-2 deficit in the deciding set to take it to a tie-breaker.
Alcaraz, though, found his rhythm again and eventually sealed a 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-3) victory to secure his place in the quarter-final of the ATP Masters 1000 event.
Asked after the match about what happened in the third set, he replied: “Honestly, I didn’t know what happened. I started feeling bad at that moment.
“I couldn’t feel the right way in my shots. I didn’t know what happened. But what I was thinking was to stay calm, try to find a way to overcome the problems and find the good feeling again. I think at 5-6 serving, I started to feel better.
“The big players have that feeling to find a way to stay alive and try to end the match playing well.
“In difficult moments you have to believe in yourself and your style, you have to go for it, it doesn’t matter if you win or not. You have to play the best you can at those times. In the tie-breaks I have done very well, and that is the reason why I got the victory.”
World No 17 Hurkacz was always going to be a tough nut to crack and the Pole broke as early as the second game of the match and went on to serve out the opening set.
Given how tough it is to break his serve, Hurkacz appeared to have gotten a match-winning break in the first game of the second set, but this time Alcaraz pegged him back straightaway.
The 20-year-old then dominated the tie-breaker and soon found himself 5-2 up in the third set on the back of breaks in games three and seven.
But he lost his mojo and Hurkacz saved two match points in game eight as he broke back and then broke to love in game 10 to get back on serve.
Alcaraz, though, got two early mini breaks in the tie-break and eventually got the job done on his fifth match point.
The top seed will face 12th seed Tommy Paul in the quarter-final after the American defeated compatriot Marcos Giron 6-3, 6-2 while the winner of the Alcaraz-Paul encounter will face either eighth seed Jannik Sinner or Gael Monfils in the semi-final.
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