Carlos Alcaraz’s ‘unusual’ comments may come back to haunt him as he targets rankings lift
Carlos Alcaraz left many in tennis surprised with his comments after he lost against Jack Draper in Indian Wells back in March and now his words may be about to come back to haunt him.
Alcaraz lost a tight three-set match against Draper in the semi-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament, with the French Open and Wimbledon champion admitting he was a little intimidated by the prospect of facing the British star who went on to lift the title in the Californian desert by beating Holger Rune in the final.
Respected coach Patrick Mouratoglou told Tennis365 that these comments were ‘usual’ as Alcaraz was surprisingly candid about his mindset against Draper.
“I think today has been a difficult day for me. I didn’t practice well. I didn’t feel myself on court,” said Alcaraz in his press conference.
“You know, even in the warming up on court, I was missing a lot. I didn’t feel my shots. So that’s why I was talking with Juan Carlos on the bike, because I was a little bit mad with myself about the way I warmed up on court.
“As I said, I didn’t approach the match in the best way that I could. So I was nervous during the whole day, in the practice before the match, and I think that affect, you know, to the match. So that’s why I had the conversation with Juan Carlos on the bike.
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“I always say that I have to be focused on myself, on my own game. I think today I was more worried about his level, his game, than myself.
“So I think that’s was a big problem to me, that I was always thinking about his weaknesses than my best things. So when you’re thinking more about the opponent than yourself, then it is a big problem.”
It was unusual to hear an athlete of Alcaraz’s stature suggest he was worried about the threat posed by a rival who also beat him on a grass court at the Queen’s Club last summer.
Now Alcaraz will be up against Draper again after the duo made it through to the quarter-finals at the Italian Open after draining matches in the round of 16.
The British No 1 admitted he was “bamboozled” in the first set of his match against unpredictable Frenchman Corentin Moutet, but recovered to claim a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 despite being drained of energy after a frantic few weeks that included a run to the Madrid Open final.
“I felt like I was on a string, like I didn’t know what I was doing,” said Draper after he match.
“Then I came out in the second set and just fought for every point and found a way in the end to pick up my level and it was a good one to come through. It feels good.
“You don’t know what’s happening shot to shot. You can almost get sucked into his way of playing. I was all over the court.
“At one point, I was looking at the slides that I’ve been doing in one game. I was literally covering the whole court with drop shots. I don’t know what was going on. I’ve got a dizziness from it. Credit to Corentin. He honestly played a great match. To come through that one was amazing.”
Meanwhile, Alcaraz set up his latest meeting with Draper after a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 win over Karen Khachanov, as he battled fatigue to get over the winning line.
“Physically I struggled a bit,” said Alcaraz after the match. “Not any pain on any part of the body, but I was just tired.
“The match was really tough. I had to run a lot, so I’m just really proud of the way I fought for every ball.
“At a break up in the second set, from then to the end of the second set, I probably lost focus a little bit.
“I had to run a lot. I had to fight every ball. Khachanov’s level in the match, it is insane. It is really, really high. He pushes you to the limit in every point.
“To be present… I have to be present. I had to wait for my chances. That made me run a lot. I had to fight a lot.”
Now Alcaraz faces the prospect of facing Draper once again, with the Brit set to rise to world No 4 in the rankings if he gets another win against Alcaraz and what would be a first on clay against the Spaniard.
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