The world number one explained the reasons which led him to say goodbye in the semi-finals of Roland Garros against the Balkans. “If someone tells you it’s the same to have Djokovic on the other side of the net as anyone else, they’re lying,” he admitted.
Carlos Alcaraz faces the media after his elimination in the Roland Garros semi-final against Novak Djokovic. The world number one was physically diminished from the third set and ended up losing quickly to the Serbian, who now has a chance to return to the top of the standings and overtake Rafael Nadal as the Grand Slam winner.
“Maybe I was a bit more nervous, but nothing out of the ordinary, I attribute what happened today more to the mental, I was more tense than necessary. I didn’t know how to release or remove the extra tension and after the intensity of the first sets, well, it weighs on you more and playing against Novak, he squeezes you,” he began by acknowledging.
In this sense, the Spaniard spoke about his physical problems. “It was difficult to deal with the cramps that came out, first my hand, then my leg and in the end practically my whole body, the demands of the first two sets took their toll. It’s time to practice more and to know how to handle situations better than I did today,” he added.
“It’s probably the most stressful and tense thing I’ve ever felt on a tennis court. It was very difficult for me. I had never felt anything like what I felt today, I never felt pressure like in this match”, he admitted. And he added: “If someone says having Djokovic on the other side of the net is the same as having someone else, he’s lying. The nerves and physical demand Nole put me through in the first two sets caused it all” .
“It hurts to leave like this, but I’m a positive boy and in the end it serves as my experience, when you face Novak you take a lot of things for the future. You have to try to see what happened, see what to improve for the future, as difficult as it is, I’m not going to screw up so much, ”he stressed.
strong demand
On the feelings after the defeat, he elaborates: “The whole team was screwed, nobody wants to lose, but we all know how hard it is to win a Grand Slam in general, not just Roland Garros. In the end we will have to take positive things, we couldn’t talk a lot either. The emotion is there, we prefer to let the time pass and draw the positive from this match. Everyone is a little hurt, but we’ll get things out for the future.
Finally, he was asked if Nole went to the bathroom between the second and third sets. “I think not, many can enter into controversy saying that he went to the bathroom to stop the game, but that didn’t influence me at all, he will have his reasons, but the break didn’t bother me. The tension I had from the first match to the second set was very high and the demand caused me to not be able to physically hold on.” held.
“In the end, each player is as he is, I don’t blame him for anything, he had to close the game. I know how hard it is to play against someone who is not 100%, and encouraging you and closing your fist encourages you not to go down and finish as soon as possible, Nole did well” he concluded.
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Source: Latercera
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
