Alcaraz was asked about the recent loss to Djokovic in his US Open pre-tournament presser.
Carlos Alcaraz admits failing to get the job done against Novak Djokovic in the Paris Olympics wasn’t something easy to accept since he is aware that the Summer Games are a rare event but also reveals that after a few days, he was able to look at it more realistically and feel proud of his silver medal achievement.
In his Olympic debut, 21-year-old Alcaraz made a great start and won all of his opening five matches in straight sets. And the Spaniard didn’t fail to deliver a very high level in the final as well. But somehow, Djokovic managed to find the answers and be a bit better and ultimately seal a 7-6 (3) 7-6 (2) win in nearly three hours of play.
Considering that Alcaraz ousted Djokovic in three sets in the Wimbledon final just three weeks earlier, the Spaniard probably entered the Olympics final believing that he would definitely win again if he managed to play on the same level like in the final at The Championships.
“Well, that was one of the most important finals of my career, of my life. I know that the Olympic Games are every four years, so I don’t know if I’m gonna have another chance to win the gold. I’m gonna fight for it, for sure, the next Olympic Games,” Alcaraz said at the US Open when asked if the Olympic final loss was “the lowest he felt after a defeat.”
Considering that Alcaraz ousted Djokovic in three sets in the Wimbledon final just three weeks earlier, the Spaniard probably entered the Olympics final believing that he would definitely win again if he managed to play on the same level like in the final at The Championships.
“Well, that was one of the most important finals of my career, of my life. I know that the Olympic Games are every four years, so I don’t know if I’m gonna have another chance to win the gold. I’m gonna fight for it, for sure, the next Olympic Games,” Alcaraz said at the US Open when asked if the Olympic final loss was “the lowest he felt after a defeat.”
“But it was a difficult moment to deal for me, you know, losing the gold medal in a really close match that I had opportunities. But, you know, in front of me, I had a really good player that he was fighting for the same thing as me, and he deserved it. So days after the Olympics was, ‘okay, I realized that I won the silver medal, it was a great achievement for me that I have to be proud of.'”
It may have been extremely painful for the 21-year-old Spaniard to fall just short of becoming an Olympic champion, he is trying to look at it from a positive perspective and use it as a lesson for his next matches on the biggest stage.
“You know, I try to keep going, try to learn about this match. Just the next finals or the next important matches of my career I gonna deal in a different way or a better way than I did in the Olympics. Well, I realize that it was an important moment of my life.”
Alcaraz dismisses concerns regarding the lack of matches going into the US Open
After Paris, Alcaraz expectedly skipped the Montreal Masters and returned to action at the Cincinnati Masters. But in Cincinnati, the world No. 3 picked up a surprise defeat in his opening match versus Gael Monfils.
And because of that, 2022 US Open champion Alcaraz arrived at Flushing Meadows with just one match played going into the final Slam of the year. However, he believes it is not that big of an issue and that he can navigate through it.
“Well, it doesn’t matter for me. Obviously I would have loved to have more matches on my belt on hard court before the US Open. But, I mean, it doesn’t affect me at all. If I look back a little bit, you know, for example, facing the Roland Garros, I didn’t have too many matches on clay, and it was a pretty good result. And then in Wimbledon, the same thing, you know. So I don’t want to think that it’s going to be the same, you know, than the previous two Grand Slams, but I’m not worried about not having too many matches on hard court,” Alcaraz explained.
Alcaraz on his injury that abruptly ended his practice session
On Saturday, Alcaraz was on the practice court but he had to leave earlier than expected because of an ongoing ankle issue. When asked about it, the four-time Grand Slam shrugged off concerns regarding his ankle injury, saying he cut short his practice due to precautionary reasons.
“Well, I think it is okay. You know, I just stopped my practice just for precaution. I didn’t feel comfortable enough to keep practicing just in case if everything was going to get worse. But, you know, after a few hours later, I still feel good, you know, my feet, so tomorrow I will try to be practicing again 100% without thinking about it, but today I’ll take care about it,” Alcaraz said.
At this year’s US Open, Alcaraz is the third-seeded player and he faces qualifier world No. 189 Li Tu in the first round.