Carlos Alcaraz said that he had taken a step back mentally after his loss at the 2024 US Open, but former ATP player Alex Corretja doesn’t agree, as he presented his own view of the situation.
The 21-year-old Spaniard arrived at the US Open after disappointing performances at the Paris Olympics and the Cincinnati Open. He was considered one of the top favorites to win the event, especially with Jannik Sinner’s uncertain health situation and Novak Djokovic’s possible inability to find motivation after his huge emotional release at the Olympics.
The young Spaniard would have certainly agreed with that, but he didn’t deliver on the court. The first major obstacle came from Botic van de Zandschulp, who played a fantastic match to beat Alcaraz in straight sets.
While his opponent was amazing, Alcaraz failed to really show his top level in that match, which left many disappointed. He was harsh in his own assessment, claiming that he took a step back mentally in recent weeks, but former player Corretja didn’t agree with that.
The 50-year-old was one of the first to talk to Alcaraz after his loss to Djokovic in Paris, so he has been up close in recent weeks, seeing everything unfold. Speaking on the El Larguero radio show, Corretja presented how he sees everything that’s happened recently.
“With all the affection and love I have for Carlos, I do not agree with him… He hasn’t taken any steps back, he has taken a thousand steps forward in the season.”
“This is just a step on the road. It’s true that after the summer that Alcaraz was having, you come to New York with the hope that maybe you’ll repeat it and do very well.”
“But I honestly think it’s very normal that at some point Carlos felt that he had no energy left. I think that the effort he has made, both physically and especially emotionally, in recent months has been enormous. What he had to do to get in shape for Roland Garros was, I think, gigantic because he won the tournament suffering a lot.”
The season didn’t start well for Alcaraz, who lost in the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and also struggled during the clay season in South America, even though he later won at Indian Wells.
He didn’t play a lot leading up to Roland Garros due to injury issues, but he went on to win Roland Garros. He then won Wimbledon, making the season a major success as he had never won two Grand Slams in one year before, as he did this year.
The Olympics were also a successful event for him, even though he lost in the final. Overall, Alcaraz pushed himself to the maximum, and that was bound to have some consequences.
“Each case is different and in his case in particular, I would say that what he has won is what has led him to also push himself to the maximum. So beyond losing against the 70-something in the world, I think that his mental freshness was clearly lacking.”
“More than a mental breakdown, it’s more that the body has a limit and Alcaraz has pushed it to the limit. If Alcaraz had made, for example, the quarter-finals at Roland Garros and the semi-finals at Wimbledon, maybe he’d already made it to the final at the Olympic Games, you’d say ‘well, maybe he’s not that tired’.”
“But if you reach the finals in all the tournaments, you win most of them and on top of that, with the emotional burden that comes with being 21 years old, with physical difficulties, he recovers and makes it to the United States…”
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