“I was way too nervous”: Alcaraz explains his cramps after his loss against Djokovic

2023-06-10 01:39:35

The stress. A lot of stress. This is how Carlos Alcaraz saw his body freeze this Friday in the semi-final at Roland-Garros against Novak Djokovic (6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1). After two physically and mentally exhausting first sets, the Spaniard broke down. The right hand then the left leg then the whole body of the young man of 20 years. Nothing held but the world number one absolutely did not want to give up. He explained himself at a press conference, a little over an hour after his defeat.

What happened and how do you explain it?

CARLOS ALCARAZ. I started having cramps at the start of the third set. It was getting too hard for me to move. I left to see. But, in the 4th set, it was just as hard. My whole body was no longer moving. I started this meeting very nervously. I was way too nervous. There was enormous tension in this match. In the first set, the second… Everything was intense. There were rallies, sprints, lots of things. But I explain these cramps by the general tension in the first two sets.

Did playing against Novak Djokovic increase this tension?

Probably. It’s Novak, a sports legend. If someone says they’re not stressed or nervous before confronting him, they’re lying. Next time I hope to be different. But I will be nervous, that’s for sure. Today everything was fine. I was as usual. A little more nervous perhaps but nothing extraordinary. I really entered the game too nervously. I didn’t know how to calm myself down, to get rid of this tension.

Is this the most tense match of your young career?

Probably yes. It was very hard for me. I had never felt anything like this. I’ve had cramps before but never like this. I can give the example of the match against Tsitsipas at the US Open (Editor’s note: five sets, concluded in the decisive game). But it was not of this magnitude.

Why didn’t you give up?

I would have been disappointed if I gave up. It would have been too hard for me. Even more than this defeat. In the 4th set, I thought I had a 1% chance of coming back. It was hard… I took two points and nothing (laughs). No one told me to give up in my box. I’m in the semi-finals, I didn’t want to. It would have been worse for me.

What will you remember from this experience?

It hurts to leave like that in a semi-final. But I’m a positive boy, I’ve always said that. It will serve as my experience, it’s still a semi-final against Novak. Despite what happened, I tried. I will see what to improve, what to do better. I’m not leaving as affected as we think (smile). Nobody wants to lose. We are all disappointed, me and my loved ones. But we have to keep things positive. The tension and the demands of the match cost me dearly. I have to train more, gain more experience to handle things better.