Carlos Alcaraz has admitted improvement is needed ahead of the second week at Roland Garros after a four set win over Damir Dzumhur on Friday evening.
The defending champion was well on his way to victory after cruising to a two set lead in what seemed to be a routine victory.
However, that was far from the case as Dzumhur rallied back to take the third set and was a break up in the fourth set playing some immaculate tennis.
In the end Alcaraz came back to secure a 6-1 6-3 4-6 6-4 victory that lasted three hours and 12 minutes.
After the match the Spaniard said he had to suffer a lot and admitted that if he wants to win Roland Garros for a second year in a row then he will have to improve, “I didn’t enjoy it too much. I suffered quite a lot,” Alcaraz was quoted by tennis 365 as saying in his on-court interview.
“That’s why it’s difficult to win Grand Slams – because you have to play a really high level of tennis for three to four hours and maintain your focus. That is the most difficult part of tennis. The first two sets were under control and then he decided to play deeper and more aggressively.
“My energy went down and it was difficult to push myself, but I had to give everything I had inside. In the end, I’m proud to get the win in the end. I love playing this kind of game. Playing aggressively, hitting great forehands and going to the net. When I play with confidence, I just go for it. Find the power and just kill it. I like to do that.
“Now I have to recover. We play a match on court and then we play another match to try and recover to be ready for the next match.”
Next up for Alcaraz is Ben Shelton in the last 16 on Sunday with the Spaniard currently leading the head-to-head 2-0.
