Carlos Alcaraz's mental strength was recently called into question after a couple of disappointments, but Rafael Nadal rubbished those comments in a recent interview.
Alcaraz is a four-time Grand Slam champion at the age of 21. That’s not the norm, nor has it ever been the norm in tennis, and it clearly indicates how great of a player he is.
It’s ridiculously difficult to achieve such numbers, especially at a time when the overall level of tennis has never been as good across the board. Besides his magnificent talent on the ball, the Spaniard is also a very strong competitor, able to withstand a lot of pressure and find solutions even when things don’t go his way.
This year’s Roland Garros was the most complicated Grand Slam run of his career because he was down in sets in both the semi-final and final. He still went ahead and won both matches, which shows how mentally strong he is.
Alcaraz is also human, making mistakes and not always having good matches. That’s normal, and while the frequency of lackluster matches has been higher in recent weeks than before, it doesn’t really change much of who he is fundamentally.
Rumblings that the Spaniard is not mentally strong are easy to dismiss because everything we've seen from his career so far makes him stand out, even among great players. He’s not average by any means, and his mental side is well above average as well.
Nadal was recently asked, during an interview with El Hormiguero, about his colleague’s mentality, and he dismissed suggestions that it wasn’t as strong because he thinks it is. Nadal knows Alcaraz well and was able to see him up close during the Olympics, and he’s seen just how strong he is. To Nadal, the recent results are mostly down to fatigue.
"I don’t think Carlos is mentally not strong, what he is is a little bit tired and saturated by everything he has achieved this summer. Winning Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the silver in Paris."
The 21-year-old had a long and brutal summer, starting with the Roland Garros run that included many long matches in the heat. Then he had a quick turnaround for Wimbledon and handled it well by winning the event and successfully defending the trophy he had won the previous year.
Alcaraz then competed in the Olympics, and it’s just been a lot of tennis lately. He didn’t make a smart decision by opting to play in Cincinnati instead of resting a bit more after the Olympics, but things like that are lessons for him.
He’ll learn and come back stronger, as there’s plenty of tennis left to play until the end of the year, and that's the idea that also Nadal shares.
"There is a certain moment when the mind also needs a little rest because in an Olympic year the calendar is even tighter and the demands are very high."
There is plenty more tennis left to be played, and Alcaraz is in contention to finish the year as number one on the ATP Tour.
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