Carlos Alcaraz makes interesting admission about key area that he finds ‘difficult to control’

Shahida Jacobs 07 Oct 2023 8:54 AM

Carlos Alcaraz interview

Carlos Alcaraz’s rise to the top in tennis has been nothing short of phenomenal, but the world No 2 has highlighted one fascinating aspect of his game that he feels needs improvement.

The two-time Grand Slam winner is looking to bounce back at the Shanghai Masters on Saturday after he slumped to a two-set defeat to Jannik Sinner in the semi-final of the China Open earlier in the week.

The manner in which he went down against Sinner raised a few eyebrows as the two young guns slugged it out brilliantly in the first set before the Italian edged the tie-breaker, but Alcaraz then fell away badly in the second set and eventually lost 7-6 (7-4), 6-1.

While he was full of praise for his rival Sinner after the match, the reigning Wimbledon champion also made a surprising revelation during the post-match press conference, saying: “In the second set I was mentally out [of it].

“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.”

And he admitted ahead of his opening match against Gregoire Barrere in Shanghai that he still has some work to do when it comes to mental preparation and staying focused when the going gets tough.

“Well I always say that mentally is the toughest part to practice but at the same time it’s the most important thing if you want to be the best in tennis,” he told the official ATP website.

“I’m trying to work in every practice, in every tournament that I go [to], learn from the things that probably I was not doing great. For example, the last match against Jannik I said that I [was] out of my mind in the second set so this is something that I have to work on I’m trying not to happen the next time.

“I want to be the best so I have to practice mentally to be strong enough to play at the same level and don’t have up-and-downs.”

When asked if he finds the mental side difficult, he replied: “Sometimes, sometimes. It’s difficult to control yourself most of the time. So it’s for me, difficult yeah.”

The 20-year-old also acknowledged that he had some “homework” to do on the back of that Sinner defeat.

“I have to do my homework, to re-watch the match and to see the things more clear, you know, and study what happened exactly, and be able to practice and be better on this tournament,” he stated.

“I have just one day to practice and then the tournament is going to start, but I think I’ll be ready, and I’ll change what I did wrong in Beijing.”