After losing 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 to twenty-four-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in another thrilling contest, Carlos Alcaraz revealed he had regrets with how he approached today’s match, but at the same time knew these big occasions were crucial for him in his ongoing journey to greatness.
After Djokovic took a medical time out at 4-5 down, Alcaraz closed out the first set to lead the match. However, during the second set the Spaniard became more and more concerned with what was happening on the other side of the net instead of focussing on his own game.
“Well, I felt like I was controlling the match, and I let him get into the match again,” said Alcaraz in his press conference afterwards. “I’m going to say that’s was the biggest mistake that I made today. In the second set I had to play a little bit better just to push him even more to the limit. I saw that he had issues just moving a little bit in the second set. I had to push him a little bit more just to the limit, and I didn’t do it. After that, I think he started to feel better and playing a great level. That was my biggest mistake today.”
But obviously when Novak is at this level, it’s really difficult. I think I had my chances. It was a really close match. I think most of the crucial points, it went to his side. I mean, when Novak is playing at this level, it’s really difficult to find the way.”
Djokovic went an early break up in each of the sets with his aggressive play, particularly on his returns, and while he hit less winners (31 to 50), he crucially made less unforced errors (27 to 40) during the three hour and thirty-seven-minute encounter. He remained coy about whether the injury was to the groin or hamstring, but it clearly affected his 21-year-old opponent who was distracted as the match progressed.
“Well, it’s just about when you see someone that is struggling physically a little bit, it’s kind of you not playing the same level. It seems like, ‘okay, it’s going to be easier’. At the same time in your mind you’re thinking, ‘okay, I have to not make mistakes’. Probably you’re not hitting the ball at the same way that you’re hitting before. I think that’s it.
I think he did great, great hits, great shots. He started to play more aggressively, try not to move so much in the second set. He made few of them, which make him stay up in the set, break up, or stay up. That’s it. After that, it was really difficult to overcome that, and I’m playing better than him.”
Djokovic targeted the forehand wing on returns while regularly pinning Alcaraz in his backhand corner. He later denied that there was any intentional theatrics from the Serbian legend.
“I’m not saying, he made a show. I just saying that it’s obvious and everybody saw it that he was struggling in the second set. Then the third and fourth set he showed he was really good. I don’t know if it was more running to the forehand or running to backhand, but obviously he was struggling. Then the third and fourth set, I didn’t see anything bad from him.”
The exciting Spaniard regularly gets the crowd of their seats with his spectacular points and his athletic game style covering all parts of the court. But today he admitted he wasn’t using the crowd as he usually does in a bid to save energy for the important moments.
“There have been some matches that I didn’t save energy, pumping myself, playing with the crowd, screaming ‘vamos’ every time I’m 100%. At the end in the third and the fourth set [today] probably I struggled physically because of that. So, I learned to save energy during the match, especially these kinds of matches which is really physically demanding. I could probably do it a little bit more in specific moments. In general [from now], I’m going to say that in Grand Slam I prefer to be, calmer.”
After the match, Djokovic called it one of the best matches that he’s played at the Australian Open, Djokovic was full of praise for his Spanish opponent:
“First I want to say that I have the utmost respect for Carlos and everything that he stands for and what he has achieved so far in his young career,” he said in his on-court interview. “What a terrific guy he is and an even better competitor, the youngest ever number one in the world in the history of our sport. Four Grand Slams and we’re going to see a lot more of him.”
And Alcaraz felt proud of his efforts as he exited the tournament with his head held high.
“For me it’s great hearing those words from someone who played historic matches, [and achieved] historic things. So, I’m leaving here Australia with the head up. I’m really happy about hearing those words from Novak.”
Alcaraz was pleased with his overall showing at the opening Grand Slam of the year and knows that having a rivalry with the last of the “Big Three” will stand him in good stead for the future.
“I’m just lucky to live this experience. I’m 21 years old. From these matches, I’m getting so much experience about how to deal with everything. I’m not going to hide. I’ve done great things in tennis already, but playing against one of the best in history of our sport, these kinds of matches help me a lot in the future to be better. I’m playing great, great matches. Every time that we play against each other, I think it’s guarantee that we push each other to the limit. I think we’ve played great points, great rallies. It was really tight the third, the fourth set. I mean, the whole match, I guess.”