Carlos Alcarazs run in the Masters 1000 in Shanghai ended in the quarterfinals against a great Tomas Machac, who is perhaps playing the best tennis of his career. The Czech player - who had defeated Tommy Paul in the previous round - has performed at the limits of perfection by interrupting his illustrious opponents streak of consecutive victories.
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Carlitos - who had won the ATP 500 in Beijing last week - had made it to the match against Machac without losing a set, but he was sincerely surprised by the level expressed by his rival. The two players had already faced each other in the Davis Cup about a month ago, with the Czech having put the Spanish in great difficulty before giving up cramps.
The 21-year-old from Murcia will not face Jannik Sinner in the semi-final of the penultimate Masters 1000 of the season and will prepare for the 'Six Kings Slam' in Saudi Arabia, where an incredible prize money will be put up for grabs. After this performance, the four-time Grand Slam champion will play in the Paris-Bercy Masters 1000 and the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.
Carlitos is satisfied
One of Alcarazs main goals is the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga in November, where there will be the last official appearance of Rafael Nadal as a professional player. The season of the Spanish ace was exceptional for a player of just 21 years. The champion from Murcia has won two Grand Slam titles, the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells, the ATP 500 in Beijing and the silver medal at the Olympic Games in Paris.
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After his match against Machac in Shanghai, Carlitos opened up on his Asian tour: It has been a great tour. Winning the title in Beijing was a great achievement. This year in Shanghai, I improved on what I did last year, so that's good. I am a bit disappointed with today's defeat. I wanted to go further and play the semifinal with Jannik, but that's tennis. I just have to accept it. I love China and I am proud of my performance here.
He also praised Machac: I felt good on the court. I hit well, moved well... but, to be honest, there was a point where I didn't know what to do. This has been one of those matches where I couldn't play to his backhand. Every time I hit a forehand, it was a winner, or the next shot he hit was a winner. It was crazy. He pressured me to the limit, to the point where I had to think about where to place the ball in the most correct spot possible or he would make me run all over. That pressure was the key.
The four-time Grand Slam champion suffered some unexpected defeat in 2024 and admitted he had to work even harder to be more consistent. Alcaraz is far from the ATP Race points of world number 1 Jannik Sinner, who has suffered only six defeats in the whole year and can increase his lead in Shanghai.
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Alcaraz onRafa Nadal
During his press conference, the former world number 1 also wanted to comment on the news of the imminent retirement of Rafa Nadal. The 22-time Grand Slam champion will be leaving professional tennis after the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga. "It didn't affect me at all before the match. I didn't get distracted at all. I was just really focused on the match. I didn't think about Rafa's news," he stated.
"Obviously when I watched it, it was tough to accept it. I was in shock a little bit. Thanks that I saw it like one hour before the match, so I had time to accept it and forget it a little bit before the match," he said."It is a really difficult thing, really difficult news for everybody, and even tougher for me. He has been my idol since I start playing tennis. I look up to him. Proudly, thanks to him, I really wanted to become professional tennis player. Losing him, in a certain way, is going to be difficult for us, so I will try to enjoy as much as I can when he's going to play," Alcaraz continued.
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The fans hope that Carlitos can play doubles with Nadal during the Davis Cup Finals in November. The two Spanish champions have already played together at the Paris Olympics, where they reached the quarterfinals, losing to two very experienced players like Ram and Krajicek. According to the bookmakers, Spain is the most likely finalist in this edition along with the outgoing champions of Italy.
