Alcaraz bids for US Open glory
Carlos Alcaraz capped off an unforgettable European summer with a silver medal at the Olympics after triumphs at the French Open and Wimbledon but the Spaniard will aim to clear his head in the build-up to next week’s U.S. Open following an epic meltdown.
The 21-year-old heads to the year’s final Grand Slam on the back of a stunning 4-6 7-6(5) 6-4 second-round defeat by French veteran, Gael Monfils, at last week’s Cincinnati Open and called it the “worst match” of his career.
A frustrated Alcaraz destroyed his racket in the deciding set by repeatedly striking it on the court and was at a loss to explain his dip in form and uncharacteristic implosion.
The humbling Cincinnati defeat came in Alcaraz’s first match on hard-courts since his run to the Miami quarter-finals in March shortly after he lifted the Indian Wells title.
The world number three will hope to quickly rediscover that form and can draw strength from his happy memories of playing at Flushing Meadows, where he made his Grand Slam breakthrough as a teenager in 2022 with the first of his four major titles.
The free-swinging Spaniard has never lacked confidence and remains a title contender at the Aug. 26- Sept. 8 event despite his blip but the resurgence of his main rivals, Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner, is likely to make his path tougher.
Djokovic reignited his disappointing season by outclassing Alcaraz for the Paris Games gold, while Australian Open champion, Sinner, shrugged off his health issues to reaffirm his hard-court credentials with the Cincinnati title.
Thwarting the duo could be the big challenge for Alcaraz, whose key target is to finish a stellar season by cementing the year-end number one ranking for the second time.
I’m focused on going to every tournament, thinking about playing great tennis, doing a good result to get better in the race,” Alcaraz said.
“Ending the year as number one is one of my main goals.”-Reuters
