Alcaraz: “It’s impossible to get anything good out of this match” | ATP Tour

Cincinnati

Alcaraz: “It’s impossible to get anything good out of this match”

The 21-year-old speaks candidly about her defeat and is already thinking ahead to the US Open.

August 16, 2024

Carlos Alcaraz has no shortage of memorable accolades this season, from winning two Majors, an ATP Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells and a silver medal at the Paris Olympics. But the Spaniard doesn’t want to have any reminders of his second-round loss to Gael Monfils at the Cincinnati Open.

“It’s a little bit difficult to find something good from this match. So I want to forget about it and try to move on in New York,” Alcaraz said in his post-match press conference. “I’ll go to New York and try to practice well, get used to those courts. And I’ll forget this match, because I think it’s impossible to get anything good from this match.”

The 21-year-old, competing in his first hard-court tournament since Miami in March, came close to winning last year in Cincinnati before Novak Djokovic came from behind to claim the title in what is regarded as one of the greatest ATP Masters 1000 finals.

Playing his first match in Cincinnati since that nearly four-hour epic, hoping to go one step further than last year’s runner-up finish, Alcaraz was stunned by the 37-year-old Monfils 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4. The 15-time tour champion was candid in his assessment of his level.

“I felt like it was the worst game I’ve ever played in my career,” Alcaraz said.[No] “I couldn’t play. Honestly, I’ve been practicing really well here at this tournament. The days before I felt really good, I was hitting the ball clearly, I was moving well. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know how I felt like this, but I couldn’t control myself. It couldn’t be better. So this match was impossible to win.”

Alcaraz was uncharacteristically frustrated when Monfils consolidated his break advantage early in the deciding set. The second seed smashed his racket into the hard court four times, breaking it in several places.

“Sometimes I felt like I wanted to break my racket. It never happened to me, because I could control myself in those situations, in those feelings,” Alcaraz said. “Most of the time I could control myself and I could do better in the matches or in the situation than I have felt before.”

“Today I couldn’t control myself because, as I said, I had the feeling that I wasn’t playing any kind of tennis. I think some players, many players, during their careers and at certain moments, can’t control themselves. And it was one of those moments for me.”

Alcaraz and Monfils began their match on Thursday night but were forced off court due to rain with the Spaniard leading 6-3, 6-6(1/3). Having trailed by a mini-break in the second-set tie-break when play resumed on Friday, Alcaraz was hoping to find a better level.

“I tried not to think about last night’s match. I just wanted to recover as well as possible, rest well and be ready for today’s match,” Alcaraz said. “Yesterday I didn’t play that well. I think the longest rally yesterday was five balls. So yesterday I couldn’t really get any feeling. So I thought, ‘Well, rest a little bit and tomorrow will be another day. I’ll probably feel better.’ But that wasn’t the case.”