Carlos Alcaraz says he needs to improve his tennis after suffering a ‘difficult defeat’ in the semi-finals of the Argentina Open.
The world No.2 suffered a surprise 7-6(2), 6-3, loss to Chile’s Nicolas Jarry who has recorded the biggest win of his career in terms of ranking. Alcaraz was blown away in what was a one-sided tiebreaker in the opening set. Then in the second frame, he lost an early break advantage before getting broken for a second time which enabled Jarry to serve out the match.
It is only the third time since the start of the 2023 season that Alcaraz has been beaten on the Tour by a player ranked outside the top 20. The others to do so were Fabian Marozsan in Rome and Roman Safiullin in Paris.
“It has been a difficult defeat for me, it has hurt me a lot.” Punto de Break quoted Alcaraz as saying following his loss to Jarry.
“There are many things to improve. The level has to rise, I have played good tennis but far from my real level.
“I have prepared well, physically I feel good. But this type of defeat hurt, you have to know how to read the games better and from there move forward, there is no other option.”
The 20-year-old hasn’t reached a Tour final since last August when he was beaten by Novak Djokovic at the Cincinnati Masters. In Argentina, he was the only top 10 player taking part in the tournament this year. He won his two opening matches in straight sets against Camilo Ugo Carabelli and Andrea Vavassori who were both qualifiers.
“It has been a complicated tournament,” Alcaraz commented.
“It is the first tournament on clay in a long time and even if I felt good at the tennis level, I have played against quite uncomfortable players.
“With Jarry, it was difficult to enter the match. I have had many opportunities that I didn’t take. And when you waste them against players like Jarry it takes its toll on you.
“It’s been a complicated week but I took away many things to improve.”
Alcaraz’s latest loss has boosted Novak Djokovic’s position as world No.1. On Monday there will be a 750-point difference between the two players when the standings are updated. Furthermore, Alcaraz has another 300 points to defend at the upcoming Rio Open which means the gap widens to 1050 points. However, if the Spaniard wins the Rio title he will reduce the gap back down to 550 points. Djokovic isn’t expected to play until Indian Wells next month.
In order to return to the top one day, Alcaraz admits that one area that he needs to improve on is his mentality. Candidly admitting that he needs to address lapses in concentration during his matches.
“I have to continue improving it and it has not improved compared to 2023,” he said. “It is something that I have pending and there is no other option. For me, it is very important and my level of play is based on concentration and the level of attitude and energy. In these games, I have had several ups and downs that I cannot allow.”
Alcaraz will now travel to Rio where he will play Thiago Monteiro in the first round.
