Despite his youth, Carlos Alcaraz is distinguished by self-criticism and knowing how to adequately process defeat. He avoids subterfuge and usually points towards himself. And, on this occasion, the Murcian was upset by the fact that he did not manage to completely surround Novak Djokovic in the second set, when the Serbian was suffering from his left thigh and was selecting each race; efforts, the fair and necessary ones. “The medication helped, in the end I didn’t feel any discomfort,” said the one from Belgrade, who in turn said that, if he had lost that second round, he would not have continued competing. “I let him return to the game, it is the biggest mistake I have made. I saw that in the second set he had problems moving, but I should have pushed him more and pushed him to the limit, but I didn’t. And with someone of his level, if you don’t do it it is very difficult,” said the Spaniard.
During the television broadcast of the match, the famous John McEnroe suggested on Channel 9 in Australia that what happened to Djokovic and his physical mishap was another episode of the many that the Balkan (37 years old) has been involved in throughout his career: “Yes, this is not the first time we have seen this. Don’t be fooled.” And this is how the champion of 24 majors began to sow a victory (4-6, 6-4, 6-3 and 6-4, after 3h 37m) that places him against the German Alexander Zverev, in his 50th semifinal of a Grand Slam, and that in turn deprives Alcaraz of that long-awaited club that he had come to the antipodes to look for. Champion of Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open, the young man (21 years old) will have to wait a year to try to close the circle. In any case, he says he has learned his lesson for the future.
“It will help me a lot to have played these games against the best in our sport, against someone who has played so many historic games. So I’m leaving with my head held high,” he said in English. A few minutes later, Djokovic understood that the situation had decisively altered the course of the match. “I feel sorry for him. I understand that it is not comfortable to play someone who you don’t know if they are going to retire or not. Is he going to leave? What is happening? I felt like he was looking at me more than at himself,” said the winner, with two decades of experience in the elite behind him; “and I try to take advantage of those doubts in my favor. I have also been in situations where the opponent has problems, but keeps going; Suddenly, as the game progresses, he feels better and you start to panic.”
Alcaraz, who will soon compete in Rotterdam and Doha, before the North American tour in March, referred to the issue, although he did not want to delve deeper. “In the first set I had already seen that it was difficult for him to move and in the second I was thinking about not letting him breathe, but I didn’t take advantage of my opportunities. They are moments, small details that make the difference. Everyone has seen the problems he had in the second set and then little by little they disappeared; In the end we ended up playing a great third and fourth set, but I needed to attack more in the second, not let it come back,” he added, before the final message that reflects the distrust of the opponent’s physical problems, which were treated in the break and the level multiplied as the minutes passed.
“I think that someone who is thinking about retiring, if he had lost the second set, would not have played the way he played afterwards,” said the one from El Palmar, who last year also failed to overcome the barrier of the quarterfinals in Melbourne. . “I’m not going to go into details, but I think that, even if I had lost the second set, I would have fought and I would have had to sweat to have won. “I’m not going to go into details, but I don’t think he would have retired,” he said in Spanish. Previously, during question time in English: “I’m not saying that I made a show“But in the second set he seemed to have problems and in the third and fourth I didn’t see anything.”
In any case, both of them hugged affectionately on the net and the Serbian dedicated him some complimentary words that join the compliments he usually gives him. It is the eighth time that both have collided, with a 5-3 favorable to Belgrade; full on hard surface, 3-0. “I greatly admire Carlos for everything he has achieved at such a young age. He is a magnificent competitor: the youngest number one in history, four Grand Slams and many more will surely come. He’s going to be there, for sure, more than me. I wish this match had been the final…”, Nole said goodbye at dawn.
