Alcaraz’s motivation to bounce back from his US Open defeat

To say Carlos Alcaraz was disappointed with his US Open elimination would be an understatement. The Spaniard, No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings, took a few days off after bowing out prematurely from the season’s final Grand Slam before heading to Valencia to join the Spanish team for the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage. By Wednesday, Alcaraz was back to winning ways with two victories in the match against Czechia, beating Tomas Machac in his singles encounter and then joining Marcel Granollers to see off Jakub Mensik and Adam Pavlasek.

“I needed it after the last few matches, as it wasn’t feeling very positive,” explained the Murcia native at the end of the day. “I felt the extra pressure of being number one the first set, I wasn’t comfortable, but I had to stay positive,” added Alcaraz. “The Davis Cup is special and you always want to do well.”

Alcaraz endured an intense day of tennis on Wednesday, taking to the court twice, doubling his normal matchday workload.

“It was a day with a lot of hard work, but I’m happy to have had the opportunity to play singles and doubles,” said Alcaraz. “I’m trying to take the positives from my time in the US and use them so I don’t make the same mistakes again, trying to progress on the mental side and to become increasingly mature,” he continued. “I was very motivated to be here, I’m looking forward to helping the team go as far as possible.”

It was with this mentality that Alcaraz approached his first Davis Cup match of 2024, which turned out to be a tough encounter. He would lose the first set and fight back to level the scores before his Czech opponent withdrew injured.

“Of course, on the North American swing I didn’t feel great during the matches and that’s why I started off a little nervous,” admitted the Spaniard. “I had chances, even though I didn’t take them. I knew that I’d get more if I stayed strong mentally. After a very tough first set, I managed to keep my head up and put him in difficulty so that he would feel the pressure. Despite everything, this isn’t the way I’d like to win matches, but that’s the way it went.”

Alcaraz will be back on court on Friday, when Spain face France in the second match of the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage.