“You learn more from defeats than from victories.” A capcot Carlos Alcaraz repeated the saying and reviewed the actions that had brought him to this moment, to stay at the gates of the defense of his first Grand Slam title. “The main lesson is that I can’t waste the opportunities I wasted in the first set. I fought for 55 minutes, then in the tie-break, with 3-3, I had a mental disconnection that lasted me the rest of the tie-break and practically the entire second set”. Daniïl Medvédev had just eliminated him in four sets. “These things cannot happen if I want to fight for big titles”, he analyzed.
Circumspect and thoughtful, Carlitos was already thinking about how he could solve all this the next time he finds himself in this situation. You can almost see the gears in his head turning, absorbing information and looking for future solutions. Always analyzing. Always growing. Two weeks ago he arrived at the US Open full of confidence and assured that he was a different player, more mature than the one who won the title last year. Once the tournament is over, he’s not so sure anymore. “After this match I will change my mind: I am not mature enough to control these kinds of matches”.
Alcaraz did not want to take all the blame for the defeat at any time and gave credit to his opponent, who put in an outstanding performance. The Murcian had easily won the two matches they played this year, in Indian Wells and Wimbledon. But in this semi-final at Arthur Ashe, Medvédev looked for solutions to Carlitos’ game. “He has played with more speed in the shots. I thought the execution on the right was fantastic today. Probably with the slice in the previous games it helped me a lot to find my own game, but today I couldn’t. He found good directions with the shots, no mistakes, and a great serve. Ten out of ten, as he says. He’s been great and he’s had a great game.”
He smiled with his lips, but not with his eyes, and continued to praise the executioner. “He is one of the best restaurateurs on the circuit. It’s amazing how he can subtract from the bottom of the track with so much depth and power. When I serve him and volley, he always finds the passing shots from… his house!”. They keep turning the gears in his head and something clicks. “I have to find the right serve every time and I have to serve better to stay in good position afterwards.” Click! A lesson learned. “That’s how I’ll do it in the next game.”
For now, Carlitos humbly accepts defeat. “I would have loved to play a final against Djokovic, but Medvédev deserves more than me to play in the final.”
With a view to participating with the Davis Cup team in Valencia (from September 12 to 17), Alcaraz announced that he was resigning. He confirmed it hours after the defeat. He will be replaced by Albert Ramos. “It’s been a long, intense tour and I need to rest.”
The New York fans were left without the dream final, that duel at the top between the two best in the world, and will have to settle for a second version of the fight for the title in 2021, between Djokovic and Medvédev. Two years ago it was the Muscovite who was crowned to achieve his only Grand Slam to date. They have met 13 more times, with nine victories for the Serbian, although the last one, this year, in Dubai, was for the Russian. “Against Novak it’s always the same. It’s always better than the last time he played. For example, I beat him in the final of the US Open; he beat me at Bercy in a big game. Em Carlos won it at Wimbledon; he won it in Cincinnati. Novak will offer his best version on Sunday, and I have to be the best version of myself if I want to try to beat him,” said Medvedev.
Djokovic wants to add to his legend and is chasing his 24th Grand Slam, with which he would match Margaret Court’s record and which Serena Williams could not achieve. “I don’t think about it. At this stage in my life, when I reach a Grand Slam final, it’s almost like a gift. I need to accept it as such and try to take advantage of it,” explained the 36-year-old Serbian. “I came close to getting 24th in London, but I lost to a better player that day.”
This “player”, Carlitos, did not want to say who he saw as favorite in the final. “The truth is that I don’t know. But I will watch the final, as a huge tennis fan. I think he will have a good level”.
