Carlos Alcaraz opened up on a difficult period after turning things around in Indian Wells.
Carlos Alcaraz made an emotional confession after his third-round victory in Indian Wells. The world No. 2 played one of his best matches of the year after a difficult start to the season. He later admitted that he had been low on confidence and “struggling almost every day” in practice as a result of his recent form. It was so bad that Alcaraz said he couldn’t be himself on the court.
Carlos Alcaraz is the defending champion in Indian Wells this week, as the pressure mounts to try and retain the trophy he won last year. The Spaniard has not lifted a title since July and has not reached a final since August. But he showed that he was still one of the favourites to defend his crown with a statement 6-2 6-3 victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime on Sunday.
It was an impressive performance from Alcaraz, who has had a tough start to 2024. The 20-year-old suffered some disappointing defeats in Melbourne and Buenos Aires. He then injured his ankle in his opening match in Rio, retiring at 1-1. And the two-time Major winner has now explained what it felt like to be low on confidence for so long.
“I mean, it was difficult months for me. My confidence go down a little bit. Not after Australia but in the South American swing. After Buenos Aires, I didn’t play good tennis,” the world No. 2 explained. “Yeah, my confidence go down a little bit, and I have been struggling during the practice every day, you know, trying to keep my confidence high or as high as I can. Yeah, trying to be myself every day.”
Alcaraz suffered a wobble in his opening match in Indian Wells, dropping a set to Matteo Arnaldi before storming back to win 6-7(5) 6-0 6-1. Addressing his nervy start in the Californian desert, he continued: “You know, after the first round I was struggling a little bit in the first set.
“I didn’t play my tennis, but I found the good parts to start playing a little bit better, and today was a really good match since the beginning until the last ball. So it was really helpful for my confidence and for my tennis.”
It wasn’t just a poor run of form that had been affecting Alcaraz, as he admitted that the external noise from social media also put too much pressure on him, making him feel like he wasn’t himself. “Well, I think for me, it’s a little bit difficult to be myself, let’s say, the last few months or the past few tournaments,” the 12-time title winner said.
“I was trying to enjoy, let’s say, every match, every point, but it was difficult for me, you know, to stay there in high intensity, high level of pressure, let’s say. It was difficult for me to deal with it, but I try to stay away for everything and try to njoy the court. I think that’s the most important thing for me.
“You know, as I said many times, I’m a guy that sees a lot of the phone, and I see a lot of comments that the people give to you. Most of them are really good ones, but a few of them is the bad ones. You know, it’s difficult to deal with it, but, yes, that’s what I’m trying to do, to stay away from everything, be myself and enjoy every time that I step on the court.”
After taking a lot of confidence from his straightforward victory over Auger-Aliassime, Alcaraz will now have a shot at revenge in the last 16. The second seed faces world No. 58 Fabian Marozsan, the man who stunned him in Rome last year. At the time, Marozsan was ranked at No. 135 and playing in the main draw of an ATP tournament for the first time after coming through qualifying.
He beat Alcaraz in the round of 32 and the Spaniard has been thinking about revenge ever since. “Obviously, yeah, after that lose, I felt really, really bad, you know. After that match I really wanted to rematch that match against him,” he said ahead of their rematch. “I mean, he’s playing great tennis. He is beating big guys this probably past months. Yeah, I’m really looking forward to playing against him again.”
