Carlos Alcaraz shockingly lost his first match at the Paris Masters against Roman Safiullin. Given a bye into the Round of 32 courtesy of being a seeded player, he crashed out without making it further. The Spaniard, seeded second, was one of the title favourites but fell to his Russian opponent in straight sets.
The World No.45 qualifier dominated the fixture from the beginning as Alcaraz looked out of sorts, making 27 unforced errors. Safiullin won four break points compared to the World No.2’s two, winning 6-3, 6-4 for the biggest victory of his career so far.
In the post-match press conference, Alcaraz reflected on the upset defeat and his poor track record in the Paris Masters. He has never made it beyond the quarter-finals, saying the long season before the ATP 1000 tournament likely takes a toll on his tennis. He believed this competition witnesses many surprises since it is held late in the season and players are tired.
“Well, I don’t know. Probably the season has been so, so long. Probably that affect my game. But I don’t know. I think this tournament has a lot of surprise. I don’t know, because if it’s, you know, the end of the season, players are tired, no?”
Discussing his own result, Alcaraz could not pick a specific reason for his loss. He said he will work on figuring out the problems and display better form in this stretch of the season in the coming years.
“But talking about myself, I don’t know, honestly. I have to figure out and I’ll try to the next years to be better in this part of the year.”
Since his Wimbledon title, Alcaraz’s form has been on a gradual downslide. He was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Canadian Open. After an epic Cincinnati Masters final against Novak Djokovic, he met with a semi-final exit at the US Open. A similar result at the China Open followed, before crashing out of the Shanghai Masters in the Round of 16. The second-round exit in Paris is the lowest point of this run. Alcaraz will hope to get back to his best as the ATP Finals loom.
Carlos Alcaraz has some distance to go before catching up to the Big 3
Carlos Alcaraz is often hailed as the successor to the Big 3 of tennis. While he has the stats and the titles to warrant such comparisons, his late-season slump is a reminder that there is still a long way to go. There are still some chinks in his armour concerning gameplay and schedule management he needs to iron out.
Alcaraz’s contemporaries have struggled to make a major impact despite the legendary trio no longer at their peak. Djokovic is the only one still going strong and apart from Alcaraz, nobody has been able to pose a challenge to the Serb. With two Grand Slams, four ATP Masters titles and the 2022 year-end No.1 position, the 20-year-old has better records than any of the Big 3 at this age.
The iconic trio is renowned for their competitiveness and mental resilience. Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer have often bounced back with vengeance after disappointing results or long absences. For example, the latter two began 2017 ranked outside the top 8 and not having won any of the last 10 Grand Slams.
However, they came back roaring to share the next six Majors between them. Djokovic winning the Cincinnati Masters and the US Open after losing the Wimbledon final this year is another example. Carlos Alcaraz needs to step up if he is to truly be in the iconic trio’s league. He has the ability and the numbers so a little perseverance will go a long way.
