Carlos Alcaraz was disappointed with his exit from the Cincinnati Open to Gael Monfils. But the Spaniard thinks it would be best to forget about the match rather than dwell on it too much.
Alcaraz was competing in his first match since his brutal Olympic gold medal match defeat to Novak Djokovic. The 21-year-old was in tears after missing out on securing gold for his country in Paris.
Many were expecting a strong response from the man who won both the French Open and Wimbledon before his defeat at the Olympics. He also reached the final in Cincinnati last year, also losing to Djokovic on that occasion.
However, the four-time Grand Slam champion lost his opening match in Ohio. Gael Monfils stunned Alcaraz on Centre Court 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 in a match that was delayed by 18 hours during the second set.
The former world No. 1 struggled badly after the delay, losing the tiebreak and the deciding set after it. He also became angrier and more frustrated on the court than fans are used to.
That was demonstrated by Alcaraz smashing his racket to pieces after Monfils held to go 3-1 up in the third set. The spectators on Centre Court were stunned by the Spaniard's rage, with a few jeering him afterward.
Alcaraz had a chance of overtaking Novak Djokovic in the rankings since the Serbian chose not to defend his title at the Cincinnati Open, but the current Wimbledon champion missed out on the No. 2 ranking after losing to Monfils.
There is a temptation to analyze everything that went wrong after a bad defeat. While that could help some players prevent mistakes from being repeated, focusing too much on negative moments may also be mentally damaging.
Alcaraz is not planning to overthink his loss to the 37-year-old Frenchman. He wants to forget about it and start practicing in New York on the courts at the US Open, a Grand Slam he won in 2022.
"Going to be very difficult to find some good stuff from this match. So I want to forget it and try to move on to New York. I’ll go, I’ll move to New York and I’ll try to practice well, to get used to those courts. I will forget this match…"
Although Alcaraz's defeat was disappointing, it was only a minor setback. The Spaniard is enjoying a superb season, and occasional underwhelming performances are inevitable for a player who is still just 21 years old.
The loss could also be attributed to missing out on a gold medal at the Olympics. After that, Alcaraz may not have been fully ready to compete at his best level, and the Cincinnati might have seemed like a distraction before the US Open.
If his results are strong enough, Alcaraz could still end the season as the world No. 1. The current world No. 1, Jannik Sinner, has many points to defend between now and the end of the year, meaning it could be a tight race to claim that spot.
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