Carlos Alcaraz
arrived in Buenos Aires with the aim of defending the title he had won last year in his first visit to the
Argentina Open
.
But throughout the tournament, he was far from his best level, and in the semis, he ran into an inspired
Nicolás Jarry
, who played an impeccable match, defeated him in two sets and left him one step away from the final.
And after that fall, the Spaniard, who had already warned in the previous days that he does not feel like a tennis "crack", made a sincere self-criticism, but also assured that he took away positive things from his time in the Buenos Aires ATP.
"
It's a difficult defeat for me, which hurt me a lot.
I had a lot of opportunities and I couldn't take advantage of them, especially in the first set. And when you miss a lot of chances against players like Jarry, it takes its toll on you. It's also true that Nico is playing very good. With the game, the game and the serve he has makes it difficult for you to enter the match," analyzed the world number two.
"IT IS A DIFFICULT DEFEAT FOR ME, IT HAS HURT ME A LOT"
Carlos Alcaraz analyzed the defeat against Nicolás Jarry in the semifinals of the Argentina Open.
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And he added: "
It was a complicated tournament. It was the first clay court tournament in a long time and I knew that the first match was going to be difficult for me and even so I felt good at the tennis level.
But I played against quite uncomfortable players and with many "Ups and downs that I cannot allow for the future. Maybe this week leaves me with many things to work on to improve."
At only 20 years old, Alcaraz is one of the biggest stars on the circuit.
Former world number one and winner of two Grand Slams (the
US Open 2022
and
Wimbledon 2023
), his mere presence in a competition generates enormous expectations.
He assured that with his team they try not to think about it and concentrate on the day-to-day work.
"Many think that I have to win every match. But this is tennis. There are many players who have a high level, like Jarry, who can beat anyone. And I
try not to think about the expectations that people place on me, yes not in our path, in what we have to improve
. Defeats like this hurt, but we always try to think positively, about what we can get out of these types of games so that what happened today does not happen again," he stated.
"I have many things to improve," Alcaraz said.
AP Photo/Gustavo Garello
Did Carlitos take anything positive from his time in this edition of the Buenos Aires competition?
Yeah.
"
The positive thing is that I have many things to improve
, that is also positive. I have to know how to read the games better, try my best version in moments of tension, something that I lacked today. In moments of 0-30 or break point in against I have to play better than I did today. I see those who are up there and it is in those moments that they make the difference. And for me it is a pending subject. These are things to improve for the following tournaments," he explained , without losing the smile.
"
The level has to rise. I am playing good tennis, but very far from my real level.
I prepared well for this tournament and I felt physically good, which is important. I think that with
work I will be able to improve and play every better. These types of defeats hurt, but we have to move on
," he added.
What's next for Alcaraz?
The
ATP 500 in Rio de Janeiro
, his last tournament on the South American clay court tour.
He will then travel to the United States, where he will play
The Netflix Slam
, an exhibition in Las Vegas alongside
Rafael Nadal
on March 3, which will be broadcast live on that platform.
And then he will play the Masters 1000 in
Indian Wells
and
Miami
, before returning to Europe for the slow court tour, which will end at
Roland Garros
.