Carlos Alcaraz has lost his first match at the US Open in two years, as Daniil Medvedev ended any hope of another final with Novak Djokovic.
Alcaraz was beaten by the Russian, 6(3)-7 1-6 6-3 3-6, to bring an end to his 12-match winning streak in New York.
The Spaniard was very damning of his own performance after the match, “After 3-3 in the first tie-break I lose my mind. Played three or four bad points. Didn’t think at all about what I was doing. It was tough for me. In the second set I was almost in the moon and he was playing great.”
He continued, “These kind of matches can happen even if I feel that I’m a better player at the moment. I couldn’t find solutions. He was great. I thought I was mature enough to find solutions when things aren’t going my way. After this match I changed my mind. I am not.
“I don’t think I’m gonna think about this loss for a long time. Of course I wanna learn about that and be better. Matches like this help you to be better. I will need to talk to my team and understand how I can improve.”
However, he was also very complimentary of his opponent, who enters his third US Open final in five years, “Medvedev’s shots were quicker today. His running forehand was great. He found great directions, served well, didn’t miss much. He played his game 10 out of 10”.
Alcaraz has reached at least the semi-final of all the Grand Slam tournaments he has played in this year, and he was more positive when reflecting on this, “It’s been a very good Grand Slam year. It’s my biggest goal to do well here. Seven or eight out of 10 in majors this year.”
Following their thrilling encounters in the finals of both Wimbledon and Cincinnati, many fans were hoping for another Djokovic-Alcaraz final.
The 20-year-old revealed how it felt that he could not make that happen, “I would love to play Novak here in the final, but Medvedev deserves more than me. (…) his forehand surprised me and was much better than in previous matches. He is one of the best players in the world so I can’t be surprised for by most of things that he does.
“I always want to improve and you learn more from losing than from winning. Gotta check with Juan Carlos [Ferrero] what I did wrong. The season isn’t over. There are a lot of big tournaments still coming this year.”
Despite Alcaraz’s Grand Slam year coming to an end, he is still scheduled to compete for Spain in the Davis Cup and the ATP Chinese swing for the first time in his career.
But first, Alcaraz revealed that he would be watching the final between Djokovic and Medvedev, that is a rematch of the 2021 final where the Russian prevented the Serb from completing the Calendar Slam.
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