After losing to Novak Djokovic in an exhausting title match, Carlos Alcaraz is back at the Cincinnati Open one year later. He’s got more experience in his back pocket this time.
The Spaniard, who joined Rafael Nadal in the men’s doubles at the Paris Olympics, adds priceless expertise to his belt. Alcaraz was questioned about his impressions of his week-long stay with Nadal at the Paris Olympics upon his arrival in Cincinnati.
Alcaraz said during his press conference in Cincinnati: “It was a great experience talking with Rafa off the court, knowing each other much better off the court. It was a great experience, obviously, playing doubles together. It was great. It was something that I will never forget, for sure. I learned a lot talking to him on court and off the court as well. I think we played great tennis in doubles, even if we are not used to playing doubles very often. It was a little bit disappointing at the end because we thought that we could do it better, but in general, we were happy.”
He added: “Obviously talking about myself, I reached my dream, and my dream came true, playing doubles alongside Rafa. How to deal with some situations when playing doubles. Sometimes when we were down, he was there in a positive way, talking to me like, ‘Well, right now they are going to feel [it] with the pressure. We have to just stay there, put some balls in, and try to get them in trouble. In some situations, some things that you probably don’t see or are difficult to see, he sees very clearly, off the court, how to prepare for difficult situations or matches. It was a master class.”
Alcaraz won the silver medal in singles after falling to Djokovic in two tiebreakers to win the gold. Alcaraz, who won Wimbledon and Roland Garros this year, is eager to grow from that setback and keep aiming for and succeeding in the biggest competitions.
