Alcaraz, sensational stop: “I have to adapt to the earth. Pressure has nothing to do with it”

There was already a foretaste of a quarter-final between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, but after the Serbian’s departure – defeated on Tuesday by Davidovich Fokina – it’s up to the Spaniard to greet Monte Carlo prematurely. The first on clay after the ecstasy of winning the Masters 1000 in Miami is traumatic for the pupil of Juan Carlos Ferrero: “It is not easy to get used to playing on clay – the statements after the defeat against Sebastian Korda -. The first The game is always tough, even more so if you play against a great player like Korda. Today the conditions were difficult, there was also a lot of wind “.

No pressure

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The transition from hard to clay is one of the reasons for Alcaraz’s defeat: “I have to continue playing on clay, which is totally different than hard: the points are longer, topspin is used more, there is much more rush. . You have to adapt your game and play games to get used to it. ” According to the words of the 18-year-old – 19 next 5 years – it wasn’t a pressure problem: “I’m a little disappointed, I’ve had a lot of opportunities to take the lead in the match and close to winning. But sometimes certain defeats teach something. I didn’t think about the expectation people have of me, I just focused on what I had to do. ”

Habit

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The gist of the Alcaraz press conference is the habit of playing on clay. “I think I played a good game, but I have to be more ready to play on this surface. After the victory in Miami I took two days off before starting training on clay and coming to Monte Carlo.” The first two career titles had arrived right on red, in Umag last July and in Rio de Janeiro in February. No, there is no need to worry. Now head to the next tournament: Alcaraz will play in Barcelona.