Carlos Alcaraz recently suffered one of the most painful defeats of his career at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and he's still thinking about the missed chances in that one.
Very few things are ever certain in tennis because it's such a volatile sport where things can change quickly. Matches turn on a few points, and in general, it's hard to predict what will happen.
The overwhelming majority of fans and analysts predicted that Alcaraz would win the Paris Olympics. He had dominated the sport for two months prior to that, winning both the Roland Garros and the Wimbledon Championships.
No player looked remotely capable of beating him, and when he booked the final, some analysts had already proclaimed him the winner. Even Alcaraz thought he would win gold because the Spaniard announced that he would win the gold medal for Spain after beating Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-1, 6-1 in the semi-final.
However, there was a certain Novak Djokovic who was playing a sensational event, but Alcaraz looked unbeatable. The match between them ultimately ended with Alcaraz losing.
He lost because he simply couldn't figure out how to play against Djokovic. Whatever he tried, the 24-time major winner simply found an answer. It was a tough loss, especially because it was a very winnable match for the Spaniard, and he spoke about it ahead of the 2024 US Open.
"Well, this is one of the most important final of my career, of my life. I know that the Olympic Games is every four years, so I don't know if I'm gonna have another chance to win the gold."
"I'm gonna fight for it, for sure, the next Olympics Games. But it was a difficult moment to deal for me, you know, losing the gold medal in a really close match that I had opportunities."
Djokovic won in two tie-breaks, which shows that it was a very close match. The Serbian didn't dominate against him, and Alcaraz had eight break chances in that opening set.
If he had used any of them and won that set, he could have won the match. But that's in the past, and he looks back at the Olympics as an overall successful event.
"But, you know, in front of me, I had a really good player that he was fighting for the same thing as me, and he deserve it. So days after the Olympics was, okay, I realize that I won the silver medal, it was a great achievement for me that I have to be proud of."
"You know, I try to keep going, try to learn about this match. Well, I realize that it was an important moment of my life."
His general response to disappointments like that has been to dig deep and come out even stronger. That's what makes this US Open so important for him.
It would be a nice way to bounce back because it would be his fifth Grand Slam trophy overall. The effect it would have on his confidence would also be a crucial factor for the rest of the season.