Novak Djokovic believes there are positives to take after his 2022 Madrid Open came to a screeching halt in the semifinal to the young Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz.
In the first-ever meeting on the ATP Tour of Djokovic and Alcaraz, the match lived up to the pre-match billing. The 19-year-old home crowd favorite had defeated a five-time former champion and his childhood, Rafael Nadal, just 24 hours earlier.
So, the magnitude of his semi-final match was not lost in his head, and he was unfazed by the occasion when he lined up to play another great. Djokovic, who led by a set, was made to pay for his profligacy in break points conversion as Alcaraz stormed back to win the match in a third-set tie-break after three and half hours.
The Serbian star has not played much tennis this year because of his unvaccinated status, and for that reason, he cannot travel to some countries. Madrid is only his fourth tournament, but he did not lack in competitiveness and resilience. He conceded that he lost to a better player on the day and praised his opponent's maturity.
"Congrats to him. He held his nerve very well. For somebody of his age to play so maturely and courageously is impressive. He deserved to win. His kick in altitude here is huge, and it was just difficult to deal with his ball, and I wasn't feeling my return from that side. He was serving a lot of kick just to put himself in a good position."
"I definitely played very good tennis, I mean, the best that I have played this year. Probably when the disappointment of losing this match passes, I will have a lot of positives to take away from this week."
Next up for Djokovic is a trip to Rome to play at the Italian Open as his search for a first title of the season goes on.
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