Carlos Alcaraz is the defending champion of the US Open, but he doesn't feel any added pressure because of that.
Alcaraz has an interesting relationship with pressure, both dismissing and accepting it at different times in his career. At times, the Spaniard entirely played it down, explaining that it doesn't impact him, but then sometimes, like last year in Toronto, he blamed pressure for the surprising loss to Tommy Paul.
Obviously, it does change depending on the situation, and with more and more matches under his belt, it's normal to expect him to deal with it better. The Wimbledon triumph saw him deal with pressure incredibly well, but that doesn't mean he'll do the same in New York. After all, this is the first time he's defending a Grand Slam title.
So far, it's been going really well with impressive wins such as the one over Matteo Arnaldi, and speaking after that match, Alcaraz said that he doesn't feel any pressure. This US Open looks the same to him as the one last year.
Well, honestly I didn't feel anything different. I try not to think about the defending champion. I just try to be focus on my game, on my own game, on what I have to do to put my best level on court. For me, anything else matter than playing my level and be happy with the level that I'm playing on court.
That's the only thing I care about right now. I put out all the pressure that people put on you, on the defending champions. I just delete it and focus on my own game.
Pressure will only mount for Alcaraz as he goes deeper and deeper into the event. The quarter-final matchup against Alexander Zverev is the biggest matchup so far, so let's see how he handles it. There are injury concerns as well, and that doesn't help.
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