Carlos Alcaraz needed just 50 minutes to overcome Arthur Fils in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open final on Saturday in Doha. The Spaniard dropped just three games but But where did the Spaniard rank the performance among the finest of his career?
“I played great. I played amazing,” Alcaraz said. “Every match is different, every match has their styles. I know he’s not too far from his real Arthur level. I know in this tournament he has done it, also in the battles we played before. He did a lot of his mistakes today. For me, I just tried to be focused on myself. I think I played really aggressively, and I didn’t do any mistakes at all. I was serving well, returning well.
“I am just proud. I’m going to put it Top 10 matches or Top 15 matches, just in terms of level.”
Alcaraz dropped just one set en route to the title at the ATP 500 event in Doha and is now 12-0 on the season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, having completed the career Grand Slam at the Australian Open.
The No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings is proud with his perfect start to the season but emphasised that success is more about collecting titles.
“I think for me, success is more than lifting trophies. I would say, for me, success is about how you feel and how you see yourself,” Alcaraz said. “I think I’m just really proud, and I already have success, because I learn about every match. On and off the court, I’m learning about everything, and every experience that I’m having in my life.
“As you can see, I’m a totally different person and player than back in 2022 when I got the No. 1 spot and my first Grand Slam. So I’m just trying to grow up as a person, as a player, and getting mature and seeing myself in a position that I just really like to be. I think for me that’s the real success.”
[NO 1 CLUB]
On Monday, Alcaraz will hold a 3,200-point lead over World No. 2 Jannik Sinner, who fell to Jakub Mensik in the quarter-finals in Doha. Despite the gap at the top of the rankings, the 22-year-old remains firmly focused on refining his game, a mindset he highlighted before the ATP 500 event.
“There is always room for improvement,” Alcaraz said. There’s always room for weaknesses. As I said, I don’t know if it was at the beginning of the tournament or after the first match, that I can see myself with weaknesses. I’m just trying to improve in the practices, just trying to be better on the matches.”
Alcaraz is next scheduled to compete at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells, where he is a two-time champion. The hard-court event starts on 4 March.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
O que achou dessa notícia? Deixe um comentário abaixo e/ou compartilhe em suas redes sociais. Assim conseguiremos informar mais pessoas sobre o que acontece no mundo do tênis!
Esta notícia foi originalmente publicada em:
Fonte original