Carlos Alcaraz Reflects on Amazing Run on Clay and Grass Swing: “The Best of the Year”

Carlos Alcaraz is chasing his first title at the Cincinnati Masters, where he lost to Novak Djokovic in the final back in 2023.

Carlos Alcaraz Reflects on Amazing Run on Clay and Grass Swing: “The Best of the Year”

Carlos Alcaraz (image via Roland Garros)

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Carlos Alcaraz officially started his campaign on the North American hard-court swing on Sunday (August 10). He survived a scare against Damir Dzumhur, who took the second set off him. Alcaraz changed the momentum in the third set, eventually claiming it to secure a berth in the third round of the Cincinnati Masters.

Prior to Cincinnati, the five-time Grand Slam champion was scheduled to play the Canadian Open, but he chose to skip it to prioritize rest and recovery. Cincinnati Masters is his first tournament since Wimbledon last month.

There he was, chasing history, but he failed to cross the final hurdle. His arch-rival Jannik Sinner avenged his French Open final heartbreak with a four-set win. In Paris, the Spaniard had came back from two sets down and saved three match points in the fourth set to deny the four-time Grand Slam champion his first title at Roland Garros.

Alcaraz had a decent start to the season. He lost to Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinal of the Australian Open and lifted his career’s first indoor hard-court title at the Rotterdam Open.

In the next three tournaments, including at the Indian Wells Masters and Miami Open, Alcaraz couldn’t book a spot in the final, and therefore, some critics started to call him inconsistent. But the 22-year-old gave them no chance to criticize him when the clay swing started.

He reached four finals and lifted three titles: in Monte Carlo, Rome, and Paris. After defending his French Open win, Alcaraz enjoyed his vacation in Ibiza for three days, and after his return, he took home the Queen’s Club Championships and reached the Wimbledon final. Following his opening-round win in Cincinnati, Alcaraz reflected on his campaigns on the clay and grass swings. He told Tennis Channel:

Yeah, I’ve been thinking a little bit about those tournaments, you know, from Monte Carlo to Wimbledon. Yeah, I’ve been playing great tennis, to be honest. The best of the year so far, without a doubt. But then, sometimes it’s really difficult to take a moment to think about all those moments. It is, you know, tournament after tournament, week after week, and you have to be focused on the next one.

Alcaraz has improved his head-to-head lead over Dzumhur to 2-0. He will next be locking horns with Hamad Medjedovic for the first time in his career. The Serbian ace knocked out Aleksandar Kovacevic and Tallon Griekspoor to schedule the match against the second seed.

Carlos Alcaraz finds it difficult to play at the Cincinnati Masters

Carlos Alcaraz is a former finalist at the Cincinnati Masters. Back in 2023, Novak Djokovic came from a set down to deny him the win. Last year, Gael Monfils knocked him out in his opening round.

Carlos Alcaraz (via X/Wimbledon)
Carlos Alcaraz (via X/Wimbledon)

Following his opening-round win in this year’s Cincinnati Masters, Alcaraz explained what he finds the most difficult about playing in the tournament.

Here, it is difficult to play great tennis; the ball flies a lot, goes super fast, you have to be ready, you know, to be in a position for every shot.

Carlos Alcaraz said during his on-court interview

Alcaraz is the winner of seven Masters 1000 titles, the last two of which he claimed in this year’s Monte Carlo Masters and the Italian Open. He has never yet lifted a title in the two Masters 1000 events of the North American hard-court swing before the US Open.

After Cincinnati, Alcaraz will be bidding for his second US Open title. It was at Flushing Meadows back in 2022 that he lifted the first Grand Slam title of his career.

Also read: Daniil Medvedev Trying to Look up to Iga Swiatek Amid Title Drought: “Playing Much Better Than Me”