Winning the 2024 China Open was very important for Carlos Alcaraz, who endured a tough month or two, and he explained why after the final match.
Alcaraz was the undisputed No. 1 player during the summer months despite not holding the World No. 1 rank on the ATP Tour. He had won Roland Garros and Wimbledon and looked by far the best player in the world.
Sinner occupied the number one rank in the rankings, but the Spanish player was collecting all the trophies. He had the potential to be, and after his stellar US Open run, the Italian overtook Alcaraz as the top name in tennis for a while.
Alcaraz's post-Olympics slump was very real, and a shocking loss against Botic van de Zandschulp at the US Open only cemented that. It was a tough time for the four-time major winner.
The Spaniard confirmed that after finally vindicating himself with the performances he's had in the last couple of weeks. Speaking with the media after beating Sinner in the China Open final, Alcaraz admitted quite a few things, including the lack of desire to even touch his racket after the US Open.
"Probably after the American swing, I was a little bit down, that I didn't want to touch a racket for a while. I didn't want to travel, let's say. After that we talk a lot during those days, knowing that I have to be back practicing, be stronger physically, be stronger mentally just to overcome on those problems, let's say."
His coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, was spotted being very emotional after the match, and Alcaraz was quizzed about that. He was unaware that Ferrero was crying, but it made sense because the team had a tough time leading up to that event.
Just the back-to-back failures of the Olympics and the US Open weighed heavily on everyone, including the coach and the player.
"Well, I didn't see him crying. That's a good thing to know, I guess. But yeah, I mean, it was a really special win for me, lifting this trophy in front of my team, part of my family. It was a great moment for me. I guess he got emotional at the end because we all know what we went through the last month or the last two months."
"It was a really difficult moment on the court, off the court. As I said in the speech, thanks to them I started to get the joy back playing the matches, practicing, I got motivated again. I really wanted to travel, to play tournaments again."
It didn't come out of thin air. Ultimately, tennis is a sport that never stops, and Alcaraz worked really hard in recent weeks, with the fruits of that hard work visible on the court. There is no shortcut to success, and he proved it at the ATP 500 event in Beijing.
"The last month we've been working really, really hard on the court, off the court, just to be able to feel this moment again. I'm going to say that's why he got emotional. For me, it was special. For the people that are around me, it's a special moment. I going to say that's why."
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