Carlos Alcaraz has alternated between brilliant performances and negative moments in these first two months of the new season. As has become tradition, the young Spanish champion has not played any tournament before the Australian Open. The former world No.1 was very brilliant in the first week of the Happy Slam and was considered the favorite against Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, especially after winning the first set.
Between the end of the first set and the beginning of the second set, the Serbian legend had an injury to his left thigh and seemed almost on the verge of retiring. The 24-time Grand Slam champion resisted and changed tactics using his enormous experience, while Carlitos lost concentration and made numerous unforced errors in the second half of the match.
The world number 3 was no longer able to regain control of the challenge and ended up giving up in four sets, once again showing his weaknesses.
After the disappointment in Australia, the 21-year-old from Murcia returned to action in Rotterdam where he clinched his first title in indoor conditions.
Although he did not play his best tennis in the Netherlands, the Spaniard overcame the difficulties and showed that he had made progresses mentally.
Carlitos is continuing to work
The 4-time Grand Slam champion had hoped to clinch his second title of 2025 in Doha this week, but was surprised by Jiri Lehecka in the quarterfinals.
Carlos was ahead by a break in the third set, before suffering the sensational comeback of the Czech ace who deserved to get the most prestigious victory of his career.
In a recent interview with 'Eurosport', Juan Carlos Ferrero revealed that Alcaraz has made remarkable progresses from the point of view of attitude: I thought that Carlos would lose his motivation when he went from playing a Grand Slam to dropping to ATP 500s, but he has shown that maturity is something very important for him right now.
In Rotterdam, on a physical level, he was not 100% because he arrived with a cold and tennis-wise I think it was not his best week, but due to his attitude he pulled through. It was a very good feeling. We hope that in Doha he can make it to the end of the week.
