Carlos Alcaraz proved human like the rest of us as he was overwhelmed by the moment which ultimately cost him the match.
If you haven't watched the match between Novak Djokovic and the young Spanish prodigy, you might not understand the first sentence of this piece. Alcaraz for the most part looked really good against Djokovic even though he was noticeably nervous in the opening stages of the 2023 Roland Garros semifinal.
The cramps that he experienced were full-body cramps and admitted in his post-match press conference that he was simply overwhelmed by the moment tensing up quite a bit. It happens, he's a young player who is a Grand Slam champion, but facing Djokovic in the semifinal is something entirely different. Djokovic can relate as he knows what it feels like.
I have. I have experienced that several times. Early in my career, I was struggling quite a bit physically. You know, I can understand, you know, the emotions and circumstances that affect you mentally and emotionally.
The Serbian was able to use that to his advantage and calmly bring home the match. That's a skill that you learn. Djokovic wasn't born with it, but like many others before him, he learned the skill by playing many matches like this. Being the favourite certainly added additional pressure onto Alcaraz according to Djokovic.
You know, being in one of the greatest tournaments of the world, maybe for the first time in his career he was expected to win. You know, he was maybe not an underdog, you know, chasing the title and trying to win against a favorite, but it was probably the other way around. So maybe that affected him, you know, and as he said, it probably did.
Time is on Alcaraz's side and Djokovic has no worries about his future if he keeps healthy. He showed great maturity at 20 becoming a Grand Slam champion and world number one. Some things simply have to be learned.
But it's a part of the learning curve. It's part of the experience. He's only 20, you know. So he's got plenty of time. He's shown so much maturity in the last couple of years. He appeared on the scene, you know, just few years ago, winning his first title, and only a year later he wins his first Grand Slam and he becomes No. 1.
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