Carlos Alcaraz looked at reasons things spiralled out of control for him in his defeat at the US Open to Daniil Medvedev.
The Spaniard has largely been the best player in the world this season, racking up 58 wins and allowing himself to suffer defeat on just seven occasions. Perhaps just as notable is the lack of surprise defeats he has to his name, the only obvious one coming in the Rome Masters, where he lost to Fabian Marozsan in straight sets.
Medvedev is a player that comfortably belongs in the higher echelons of the sport, but based on the degree of comfort that Alcaraz has had with this matchup in previous meetings, this was a peculiar loss under the circumstances.
When looking at the way the encounter got away from Alcaraz, it felt like he just wasn't ready not only for Medvedev to make subtle changes with his aggression, proactive court position, and added pace on the forehand. But also Medvedev's ability to counteract the tactical advantages that Alcaraz enjoyed in previous matches.
Alcaraz discussed the way things really got away from him, particularly in a first set he was participating well in to that point.
"Well, you know, these kind of matches can happen, even if I feel myself a different player. You know, he played really, really great, a great game. So I couldn't find solutions on the match. I'm not mature enough to handle these kind of matches. So I have to learn about it."
Sometimes it is easy to forget that Alcaraz is still developing in so many key areas. From time to time the composure under pressure might not be at the level required, the forehand could spray impatiently, and Alcaraz may not be able to problem-solve his way through matches.
More often than not, the Spaniard will probably get it right, but as much as we'd like to think it, he isn't superhuman, and bad days at the office can come at any stage. This was just one of them.
0 Comments