Carlos Alcaraz crumbled in the biggest match of his career so far and it's a self-inflicted wound according to the Spaniard.
Alcaraz recently faced Novak Djokovic in the Roland Garros semifinal and crumbled under the tremendous pressure suffering from cramps that weren't induced by anything physical. He admitted after the match immediately that he was nervous and it wasn't hard to spot. The first set was about as nervous as he ever looked with Djokovic noticing it as well.
It's an unfortunate end to what looked like a really strong campaign and it's particularly disappointing for Alcaraz because it could have been avoided. He talked about what had happened in the leadup to the match with L'Equipe admitting that a faulty preparation likely contributed to it.
Physically I was perfectly fine. The problem was that I put additional pressure on myself. I didn't prepare myself well for that match; the first two sets demanded a lot from me and if we add the tensions that I put on immediately afterwards, in the end, what happened to all of us happened you saw.
Everybody in his team has come to the same conclusion, which is not too terrible in the end. It can be worked on and improved as opposed to a physical issue that can linger for a long time. We've seen it repeatedly, such as when Iga Swiatek broke down at the WTA Finals stopping play while crying.
Not long after that, she started dominating the WTA Tour so it's possible and Alcaraz will likely become even better because of it. His physical therapist talked about the Roland Garros experience admitting that there was no physical issue that could have caused the cramps. It was a combination of the tremendous pressure of being favoured against Djokovic as well as nerves.
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