Milos Raonic Reveals the ‘Dumbest’ Thing He Has Heard About Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz is chasing his third title of the season at the Italian Open, where he reached the quarterfinal for the first time.
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Milos Raonic, Carlos Alcaraz (Image via Tennis Canada, X/Carlos Alcaraz Brasil)
Carlos Alcaraz is a four-time Grand Slam champion but despite that, he has faced harsh criticism because when he failed to win a title in the three tournaments is played after the Rotterdam Open. Milos Raonic slammed those critics.
Alcaraz kick-started his season at the Australian Open where he lost to 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. He then emerged victorious for the first time at the Rotterdam Open, following which, he lost the Qatar Open and the two Sunshine Double tournaments, Indian Wells and the Miami Open.
Alcaraz is kind of going through this moment where people are questioning him a little bit, which I think is the dumbest thing. It’s just that he is going to go through that phase, where the first time he came around everything was an upside, everything was a surprise that he beat this person, and there was not that pressure that you can’t lose to this person.
Milos Raonic told The Changeover Podcast
Alcaraz entered the clay swing without a Sunshine Double title under his belt for the first time since 2021. But on the clay swing, he did not disappoint.
He lifted his career’s first Monte Carlo Masters title and reached back-to-back tour-level finals when he reached the summit clash of the Barcelona. But Alcaraz failed to cross the final hurdle as he lost in straight sets to Holger Rune.
Carlos Alcaraz beats Karen Khachanov to reach the Italian Open quarterfinal
Carlos Alcaraz was on the verge of defeat in Rome. He was up against Karen Khachanov in the fourth round and moved past him with a 6-3, 3-2, 7-5 scoreline in two hours and 29 minutes.
It feels amazing to get the win at the end against a really big and really tough guy like Khachanov. Physically I struggled a bit. Not any pain on any part of the body, but I was just tired. The match was really tough. I had to run a lot, so I’m just really proud of the way I fought for every ball.
Carlos Alcaraz said during his on-court interview
Alcaraz has improved his head-to-head record over Khachanov to 5-0. He has now reached the quarterfinal of every nine Masters 1000 events. The 22-year-old has become the first Spaniard to progress to the quarterfinal in the Italian capital since Rafael Nadal, the 10-time champion in the tournament.
Before beating Khachanov, Alcaraz knocked out two Serbian players, Dusan Lajovic and Laslo Djere. Alcaraz is 26-5 on the tour this season and has a 12-1 win-loss record on clay. Prior to the Italian Masters 1000, Alcaraz skipped the Madrid Open due to a hamstring injury he suffered during the Barcelona Open final.
Last year on the clay swing, Alcaraz won his career’s first French Open title and came close to becoming an Olympic champion, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. He skipped the Italian Open last year due to an injury.
Carlos Alcaraz sets up a quarterfinal clash with Jack Draper
Carlos Alcaraz, in the quarterfinals, will be meeting Jack Draper, who came from a set down to eliminate Corentin Moutet. The upcoming clash will be the Spaniard’s sixth match against the Brit.
Alcaraz leads 3-2 in the head-to-head encounter against the 23-year-old. The quarterfinal will also be their third meeting this season following the fourth round of the Australian Open (Alcaraz won) and the semifinal of Indian Wells, where Draper emerged as the winner and later took home the biggest title of his career by beating Holger Rune in the final.
Draper also progressed to the Madrid Open final but lost it to Casper Ruud. The winner of Draper versus Alcaraz could set up a semifinal clash with World No.2 Alexander Zverev.
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