Carlos Alcaraz: “I came to the US Open to enjoy”

The Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz commented this Monday after his victory in the first round of the US Open that the mentality with which he went to the tournament is to “enjoy” and “compete”, since he does not know how his body “is going to react” after being out of the circuit for more than four months due to a wrist injury.

“It was a difficult day for me, at the same time it was beautiful. I started the day very nervous, thinking that I was going to compete again. I was more nervous than normally. My goal here is to compete and enjoy. I don’t know how my body is going to react after the matches, after the competition. I don’t know how far I’m going to go in the tournament. I came to the tournament to enjoy, to feel the energy of the people, the competition,” the Spanish tennis player confessed in the press conference after his debut at the US Open.

Alcaraz confessed that he had forgotten “what match day was like.” “I don’t remember what I did before. I forgot what match day was like. That’s why I was very nervous, because I forgot about the competition. A Grand Slam demands a lot physically. And in the end, with the extra nerves of the first match after so long, you have to deal with the doubts,” he said.

“The match is never easy. The fact of thinking if you are going to last well physically, 3 sets, 4 sets or 5 sets, are doubts that happen after having missed two Grand Slams. The body gets used to not playing 5 sets and when you return to that rhythm of competition again you think if you are going to be able to last or not. But I am happy to have been able to maintain a good physical and mental level during the three sets,” explained the Murcian tennis player.

The best news is that the current US Open champion stressed that it was a day of “enjoyment.” “We were very clear, both my team and I, that today was about having fun, jumping onto the track and trying to do the things I have been doing. Obviously we wanted to do our best to be able to win, but above all to be mentally strong and calm to endure everything that comes,” he highlighted.

“Bad moments and good times are going to come, but always without forgetting that we have returned to a tennis court, that we have competed again, and that, always keeping it in mind so that my joy does not fade in bad times. I lose fear with the confidence I have in my team makes me calmer and not think about anything beyond what I have to do on the court,” he analyzed.

Regarding the wrist injury, he stated that he feels “very good.” “I felt like I was playing normally, my style. Obviously I still have to take care of my arm, but I’m very happy that it’s finally free,” he said before describing what happened to him at the Conde de Godó when he was injured: “I felt something in my arm. I knew the point, but nothing more than that. It was more serious than we thought at the beginning. And that’s all. The first time I felt it was in Barcelona.”

Regarding the room for improvement, Alcaraz stressed the importance of “getting into the rhythm of competition.” “You have to know how to deal with nerves, with pressure, know how to play, between point and point have proper rhythm control… that will make me increase the level of tennis. In the end I think that after so long without competing, the fact of how I played today, the truth is that it was a very good match,” he remarked.

Finally, he talked about Novak Djokovic’s early elimination. “It’s a big surprise, but each Grand Slam is very difficult to guess. Each round, each player is very difficult. I try to go from round to round,” he concluded.