Justine Henin finds Carlos Alcaraz ‘detached’ from playing as he crashes out from the Paris Masters 2023 in second round

Former tennis star Justine Henin focused on the negative body language of Carlos Alcaraz last night, which pushed him to defeat.

Justine Henin finds Carlos Alcaraz ‘detached’ from playing as he crashes out from the Paris Masters 2023 in second round

Justine Henin(left) and Carlos Alcaraz(right). (credits: Tennis World USA, Hindustan Times)

Seven-time Grand Slam title winner Justine Henin gave insight into the second-round matchup between Carlos Alcaraz and Roman Safiullin. With the very unthinkable unfolding beneath the eyes of several tennis fans, the Spaniard, who has hardly put a foot wrong this year, bowed out of the Paris Masters right in his very first match.

With the No. 1 spot still in contention, Alcaraz had to win the Paris Masters at any cost, but failing to do so has made his World No. 1 hope lie on a string. In an interview with Eurosport, Justine Henin talked about the unusual nature of Alcaraz’s last-night matchup and cited that fatigue might be the reason behind his drop in form.

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I felt Alcaraz detached from the event. Is he embarrassed? It's hard to say. Is there mental fatigue? Or something else? Of course, it was a long season. 
Justine Henin said via Eurosports

She further added:

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But what caught my attention was a form of detachment and an inability to react. We saw Carlos Alcaraz very far from his level, unable to enter the duel. This is what was the most challenging.

Carlos Alcaraz opens up about his disastrous match last night

After the match, Alcaraz was completely distraught, trying to still figure out what had gone wrong. At the press conference, he talked about how tough it was for him to swallow the defeat.

Roman Safiullin(left) and Carlos Alcaraz(right) shake hands with each other after the match. (credits: Sky Sports)

He said: 

We try to turn the page quickly, but it’s difficult. It’s even more difficult, above all for me, to lose in the first rounds of a tournament that you expect to make the finals or where you expect a lot of yourself, it hurts. It hurts a lot.

He also stressed more on the fact that he was dreaming of winning the competition, and having lost the chance right in the very first round has completely broken him down. He further added: 

Right now is one of the few times where I don’t want to think about the next few days, about training and the rest, but well, it’s what I have to do. There’s only one tournament left, but these losses hurt a lot.

With that being said, it seems like this major defeat is going to leave a huge mark on Alcaraz for a while now, and it did have a lasting impression on the Spaniard. 

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