Carlos Alcaraz He says goodbye unexpectedly to US OpenThe Spanish tennis player could not get past the second round, where he met a very inspired Van de Zandschulp and with a mental breakdown which led him to a clear fall in three straight sets: 6-1, 7-5 and 6-4. Arthur Ashe, the Spaniard, left the court apologizing to the public. After congratulating his rival, he wanted to leave in a hurry, as if he wanted to disappear. His streak in Grand Slam matches is cut short. He had fifteen consecutive victories, which led him to conquer Roland Garros and Wimbledonbut after the Paris Olympics he has not been the same.
The Murcian shows a evident mental fatigue. It has been a long and different summer because of the Games. It is as if he had exhausted all his energy there. He won silver only because he met the best Djokovic in a long time. The Serbian played one of the best matches of his life to conquer the last great challenge that remained for him. Carlos did not have many days of rest afterwards either, just three or four. He skipped the Masters 1000 in Canada, as was to be expected, but he went to Cincinnati and what was seen there was no longer normal. He lost in his debut against Monfils and His reaction during the match when he broke his racket made headlines around the world. It had happened to him once when he was a kid, but it hadn’t happened for a long, long time, and since he’s been in the elite or close to it, never. His team talked about the issue. It’s nothing serious, but they didn’t want to ignore it either, especially considering that the one who was most hurt by it was Alcaraz himself.
The Spaniard came to New York with the intention of doing “clean slate”as he himself said, but he has been carrying the bad feelings. The set he lost in the first round against Li Tu was already a symptom. The defeat against Van de Zandschulp was the confirmation that he needs to rest his mind. Physically he has more than enough.
The second round of the US Open started in reverse. The tables seemed to have turned. Almost all of the two points played were won by the Dutchman. Points that Alcaraz loves, with drop shots, counter-drop shots, backhands to recover… The Murcian was still smiling, but it didn’t take long for him to stop. As soon as he took the break of advantage, Van de Zandschulp never let go, with impeccable tennis. He defended wonderfully, everything went his way, whether he wanted to or not, he was brave and aggressive in finding the net and although he committed one or two double faults, when he played with his first serve he dominated as he wanted, going in with his forehand.
Alcaraz, for his part, could not find a way to do damage, he could not find the gaps. This led him to rush. Once again he found himself with a break against him in the second set, but this time he recovered quickly. It was only a mirage. The match was the same: a solid tennis player, who moved well and did damage against another disconcerted and harmless player, who would have said it with the fear that the Spaniard instills in his rivals due to the power of his blows. By also losing this set, Carlos He looked at Juan Carlos Ferrero and told him that he was not upside downHe went into the locker room to change and calm down. The coach became a psychologist. If before he had asked him to look for Van de Zandschulp’s backhand, this time the tactics didn’t matter, he was just trying to lift his spirits. The messages were: “Don’t stop fighting for a moment.” “Pull yourself on.” “Talk to yourself.” “Reward yourself.” “You have to convince yourself.” “You have to believe it.” But he didn’t believe it.
The Spanish tennis player entered a phase in which he seemed to care little about what was happening, neither regretting mistakes nor celebrating points. He lacked a bit of rebellion against the situation. The Dutchman only opened the door a little this time, quickly giving up the break he had achieved in the third set. He had achieved it quickly again, a copy of the previous two. The smile returned to Carlos, although it was more of resignation, but he did let go in desperation and for a moment the public was excited thinking that he could experience a comeback. But as soon as things went wrong again, he no longer had anything to believe. He finished the match with 27 unforced errors: eight in the first set, nine in the second and ten in the third. In addition, many of them on break points.
Alcaraz’s season is already good no matter what happens with all that he has won, but it is not over yet and there are still important tournaments to come: two Masters 1000, the Davis Cup, the Masters Cup… The young man from Murcia needs a reset to face them.