Carlos Alcaraz reveals key to rediscovering ‘joy’ on court after US Open exit
Carlos Alcaraz believes the Davis Cup and Laver Cup helped him “get the joy” back after his shock US Open exit in August.
Alcaraz suffered one of the most surprising losses of his young career in New York, falling in straight sets to world No 74 Botic van de Zandschulp.
The reigning French Open and Wimbledon was the title favourite heading into Flushing Meadows but looked far from his best in a 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 defeat – arguably the biggest upset of the 2024 season.
However, Alcaraz has not lost a singles match since that shock loss.
The Spaniard helped guide Spain to a place in the Davis Cup Finals with a successful qualification campaign for Valencia, before leading Team Europe to Laver Cup glory in Berlin.
Those performances were followed by his run to a fourth title of the year at the China Open, where he battled past Jannik Sinner in a thrilling final.
And, speaking ahead of his Shanghai Masters campaign, the 21-year-old believes those team events have helped him rediscover his confidence on court.
“I had a really good month of practice after the American swing,” said Alcaraz.
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“Of course, the Davis Cup and the Laver Cup helped me a lot to get the energy back, to get motivated again.
“I love playing team competition, the Davis Cup with the players, with their team, with the Spanish Federation as well, all the people who are around just to help me to be better, and feeling great off the court as well, that for me is really important. The Laver Cup, it’s the same thing.
“Those competitions helped me a lot to get the joy back on the court and being focused on what’s next.
“I came here to Asia with a lot of energy, enjoy every single second that I step on the court, and that for me it’s really important.”
Thanks to his recent form, Alcaraz heads into the Shanghai Masters as the favourite to lift what would be the sixth Masters 1000 title of his career.
The third seed faces home favourite Jerry Shang in round two on Saturday, having received an opening-round bye.
Should he win, he would then face another Chinese player – wildcard Yibing Wu – in round three, and is projected to face top seed Sinner in the last four.
Alcaraz is making just his second appearance in Shanghai, having fallen in the fourth round a year ago.
