Carlos Alcaraz is already targeting more glory at the major events after beating Jannik Sinner to win the US Open on Sunday.
The 22-year-old dismissed his nemesis in four sets under the roof of Arthur Ashe in what was a case of sweet revenge. Just two months earlier, Alcaraz missed out on the Wimbledon title after losing to Sinner in the final. That was the only time he had lost to the Italian out of eight meetings since the start of 2024.
Ironically, it is likely that the Wimbledon defeat played a critical role in Alcaraz making adjustments to his game shortly before coming into the US Open. His coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, told reporters that the two held a 15-day training block to ‘focus on the details that we have to improve’ in relation to playing Sinner. He declined to go into what those changes were.
“Right after the match (at Wimbledon), I just thought that I needed to improve some things if I wanted to beat him,” said Alcaraz.
“I thought about the specific things I want to improve if I want to beat Jannik. So I just spent two weeks before Cincinnati just practicing some specific things about my game that I need or I felt like I need to improve.”
Alcaraz said he and his team ‘studied’ the Wimbledon final to find areas of his game that needed work on. They compared that match to his French Open clash with Sinner, which he won in a five-set marathon.
After their latest clash, Sinner outlined his desire to make his game less predictable, which he believes played a key factor in his latest defeat. However, Alcaraz has a different viewpoint.
“I wouldn’t say I read his game, that he was predictable, but I know him,” he explained.
“We watch a lot of my matches just to study my game. I do the same, I watch a lot of his (Sinner’s) matches.
“First of all, because I love watching him play. I think it is unbelievable what he’s doing. Secondly, it’s because I love to study him and how he plays.
“I wouldn’t say he’s predictable, but I know his style. I know what he’s going to do or his main weapons in his game.”
Now back at No.1 in the world, Alcaraz has a shot at achieving a career Grand Slam before his 23rd birthday. To do so, he must win the Australian Open in January, which is a tournament where he has yet to go beyond the quarter-final stages.
“It’s my first goal, to be honest. When I just go to the preseason to [see] what I want to improve, what I want to achieve, the Australian Open is there,” Alcaraz said. “It’s the first or second tournament of the year, and it is always the main goal for me to complete a Career Grand Slam, Calendar Grand Slam. So it’s going to be great.”
Before he targets that goal, Alcaraz still has to play the rest of this season with Masters tournaments in China and France, as well as the ATP Finals in Italy.
“It’s not too many bad things in tennis, but one of those is you win a tournament and right after that you have to be focused on the next one,” he said of the schedule.
“What I learned mostly this year is about taking moments of every tournament, of every experience that you live and enjoy with my team, with my family, with the people you have around.
“I think it’s great to take a moment, see the trophy or see what you have done in the tournament, and appreciate that, keep it going.”
