Carlos Alcaraz was defeated by Grigor Dimitrov in what could be considered an upset at the Shanghai Masters. The Spaniard was the favourite to win the competition after Sinner and Medvedev were eliminated in the earlier rounds. But Alcaraz couldn’t capitalize on it as Dimitrov came back from a set down to win 5-7 6-2 6-4.
Carlos Alcaraz came into the Asian swing with a golden opportunity to get closer to Novak Djokovic’s No.1 ranking. But the Spaniard could not do it. Alcaraz is not reading too much into this poor run of form and believes that he is playing great tennis which has not translated into the desired results. The 20 -year-old has struggled to match the highs of his Wimbledon performance.
Philosophical or delusional? Carlos Alcaraz analyses his results
Despite an underwhelming tour of Asia, Alcaraz is keeping a positive mindset going into the end of the season. The Spaniard admitted that he can improve after his defeats but surprisingly mentioned that he was playing great tennis. Alcaraz further added that even though he did not win any title in China, he is happy with his performances.
“I always say that you can improve more from the defeats than the wins. After this trip, I took a lot of lessons to improve, to be better. I think I’m playing great tennis. Even if I didn’t make the quarter-finals [in Shanghai] or lost in the semi-finals [in Beijing], I think I’m playing great tennis. So I have to practise at my 100 per cent in the weeks before Basel. That is the next tournament for me, so I’ll try to make my best in that tournament.”
Talking to the media after the game, Alcaraz praised Dimitrov for his performance and admitted that the Bulgarian veteran deserved the win. The Spaniard claimed that he struggled to play his best game against Dimitrov, who executed his plans perfectly.
“He didn’t make up and downs in his game after a really good first set. He started really well the second set, and kept that level, that intensity during the second set and the third set. He didn’t let me put my game on the match. I was all the time fighting to find a way to put the match on my own game, but I couldn’t. And I think that was the key of the match.”
It is also worth considering the Alcaraz has a self-admitted obsession with Novak Djokovic for being No.1. The race for the top ranking could perhaps be clouding the Spaniard’s judgment. His desire to dethrone Djokovic could be affecting his otherwise aggressive and unpredictable game.
Alcaraz now 500 points behind Djokovic
This Shanghai Masters defeat will cost Carlos Alcaraz in more ways than one. It will go down as a chance wasted by the Spaniard to close the gap on Novak Djokovic in the world rankings. With a 500-point deficit, Alcaraz will now try to tie with the Serbian legend by winning the Basel Indoors tournament.
As the season reaches its end, Alcaraz is losing his form. Djokovic and Alcaraz could potentially meet at the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals and that would perhaps decide the year-end No.1 ranking.
