Carlos Alcaraz made a perfect start at the 2023 Shanghai Masters, and he admitted that he didn't feel any nerves.
The Spaniard was in action last week in Beijing, and he played really well. Much like the match here, Alcaraz was able to keep it relatively simple in Beijing, making his way to the semi-final, where he was beaten by Jannik Sinner.
The Italian ultimately won the ATP 500 event, while Alcaraz lamented his approach. He was up an early break in that match but lost the opening set in the tiebreak. He completely fell apart in the second set, not even putting up a fight, which he wasn't happy about.
Many wondered how well he would bounce back against a tricky player in Gregoire Barrere but he really didn't have any issues. Alcaraz smashed Barrere in two sets and admitted after the match that he didn't feel any nerves before the match.
Not really. Honestly, I don't feel the nerves at all at the beginning of the tournament. As I said, I just focus on what I have to improve, what I have to do better, that's all I'm thinking about. I don't feel the nerves.
Being one of the best players in the world certainly helps with that, but more generally, being able to refocus after a disappointing outing. Alcaraz recently admitted that he wants to get close to Djokovic, and the Serbian is the king of resetting.
He always remains hungry and doesn't get hung up on chances, rallies, sets, matches, or anything else. It's been a few matches now where Alcaraz kind of fell apart, and that's not good enough if he wants to become legendary.
He's aware of it and will work towards it. His second-round match was rather straightforward though so there was no need to reset.
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