Carlos Alcaraz shares startling admission as Spaniard returns in Doha after making history | Tennis | Sport
Carlos Alcaraz admitted he was focusing on his weaknesses despite winning his seventh Major title (Image: Getty)
Carlos Alcaraz made history just over two weeks ago, downing Novak Djokovic to win the Australian Open and become the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam. The world No. 1 handed 10-time Aussie Open champion Djokovic his first loss in a final there, coming from a set down to win 2-6 6-2 6-3 7-5. But there’s no rest for the wicked, as Alcaraz is already back in action at this week’s ATP 500 event in Doha.
Aged 22, Alcaraz has already cemented himself as one of the sport’s greats. He has seven Grand Slam titles to his name already, and has spent 59 weeks and counting atop the rankings. Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have already branded the young Spaniard a “legend”. But Alcaraz doesn’t see things that way.
Ahead of his return in Doha, where he faces Arthur Rinderknech in his opening match, the top seed confessed that he only saw “weaknesses” in his game. “Obviously I can see myself that [I have had] a lot of success so far, winning the biggest tournaments in the world,” Alcaraz said ahead of the tournament.
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“But I just see myself with weaknesses. A lot of players, I know that they’re trying to catch me up in terms of they are studying my game, they study how I play, trying to beat me, trying to challenge me.
“I have to be ready for that, and I have to see where my level is, where my tennis is. I have to try to put myself in their minds and think what they could do when playing against me. So that’s what I mean about saying I have to improve some things. Obviously, you cannot be lagging in the level, you just have to keep it going.”
Alcaraz has started the year on a 7-0 winning streak after lifting the trophy in Melbourne Park, but the Spanish superstar also admitted that he and his team weren’t focused on claiming another title this week in Doha.
Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest man to complete the career Slam by winning the Australian Open (Image: Getty)
The world No. 1 added: “Coming here, these days, my team and I, just we set up some goals for this tournament. We are not talking about results at all. It’s just more about the process to be better, still in the process to grow up.
“There are some things that I really want to be better and [I want to] develop my game in a way that I really want to show up and to pull off here in this tournament. That would be a really successful week for me, besides results. I [want to] see myself that I’m just doing the right things on and off the court.”
Alcaraz suffered a bruising defeat in the Doha quarter-finals last year. He led Jiri Lehecka 4-2 in the final set but dropped four games in a row and lost 6-3 3-6 6-4. And he has a brutal draw this year, facing world No. 30 Rinderknech, who finished runner-up at last year’s Shanghai Masters.
Jannik Sinner is also in action at the ATP 500 event – his first appearance since losing to Djokovic in a late-night thriller of a semi-final at the Australian Open. The No. 2 seed opens against another tough opponent in Tomas Machac.
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