Carlos Alcaraz has opened up about the challenges he has faced in finding enjoyment during his matches over the past few months.Alcaraz is aiming to defend his title at the 2024 Indian Wells Masters and secure his first title since his triumph at the Wimbledon Championships last year. The Spaniard commenced his campaign with a strong 6-7(5), 6-0, 6-1 win over Matteo Arnaldi. He then defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-2, 6-3 to reach the fourth round of the ATP Masters 1000 event.
Following his win over Auger-Aliassime, Carlos Alcaraz shed light on his recent struggles, admitting that he had faced difficulty maintaining his identity on court amid the intense pressure and his diminishing enjoyment on court.
“Well, I think for me, it’s a little bit difficult to be myself, let’s say, the last few months or the past few tournaments. I was trying to enjoy, let’s say, every match, every point, but it was difficult for me, you know, to stay there in high intensity, high level of pressure, let’s say,” he said in his post-match press conference.
Concerns have arisen over the World No. 2’s form amid his title drought, with criticism from fans on social media exacerbating the situation. He highlighted the challenge of dealing with such negative comments.The 20-year-old revealed that the negativity had prompted him to avoid such distractions entirely in order to rediscover the joy of competition.
“It was difficult for me to deal with it, but I [am] trying to stay away for everything and trying to, you know, enjoy the court. I think that’s the most important thing for me. You know, as I said many times, I’m a guy that see a lot of the phone, and I see a lot of comments that the people give to you,” Carlos Alcaraz said.
“Most of them are really good ones, but a few of them is the bad ones. You know, it’s difficult to deal with it, but, yes, that’s what I’m trying to do, to stay away from everything, be myself and enjoy every time that I step on the court,” he added.
During the press conference, Carlos Alcaraz also admitted to grappling with a decline in confidence due to his struggles with his performance in recent months.
“Yeah. I mean, it was difficult months for me. My confidence go down a little bit. Not after Australia but in the South American swing. After Buenos Aires, I didn’t play good tennis,” Carlos Alcaraz said.
“Yeah, my confidence go down a little bit, and I have been struggling during the practice every day, you know, try to keep my confidence high or as high as I can. Yeah, trying to be myself every day,” he added.
However, the Spaniard disclosed that his strong showing against Felix Auger-Aliassime had injected a much-needed boost of confidence into his campaign.
“You know, yeah, after the first round I was struggling a little bit in the first set. I didn’t play my tennis, but I found the good parts to start playing a little bit better, and today was a really good match since the beginning until the last ball. So it was really helpful for my confidence and for my tennis,” he said.
Carlos Alcaraz will continue his Indian Wells title defense against Fabian Marozsan in the fourth round, giving him the opportunity to avenge his shock defeat to Marozsan in the third round of the 2023 Italian Open.