“I had a lot of hard times during the meetings,” he explained. “I was fighting with myself internally, trying to be positive, trying to stay mentally strong and not let those negative thoughts come into the game. I’m really happy that I was in control of my emotions and thoughts in every moment, in every game.”
The turning point came in the quarter finals when he saved two points against Taylor Fritz. “I got a lot of information from Taylor’s game, a lot to learn, a lot to improve on if I really wanted to win this tournament,” he said. “I realized that I really have to keep going for it, and have the determination to go for it even in the most difficult moments.”
How the injury “helped” Alcaraz
A wrist injury cost him Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Speaking in Spanish, Alcaraz chose to look on the bright side of the region. “Obviously nobody wants to miss important tournaments, but I always try to be a very positive person and think on the bright side of things,” he said. “We trained for four and a half months, but we were at home with my people, my family, doing other things that satisfied me, and I didn’t put my body under stress for a long time, because playing would be everything.”
“Yeah, yeah, the four and a half months helped me a lot to get to this part of the season fresh, ambitious, wanting to go to practice, wanting to improve,” he added. “I think it showed in these last few tournaments. I have improved a lot in terms of my game, my delivery and my personal level.”
In Turin, Alcaraz’s title is still missing
Next up is the ATP Finals (November 15-22), a title he has yet to win. “The ATP Finals is the best event in the world (on the ATP Tour). That’s what we’ve been working on all year to qualify for that tournament,” he said. “Obviously, this is a tournament we want to win one day. I don’t know if it will be this year, next year or if I will ever be able to win it, but I am going to work hard and believe that I can. I’m going there this year with a lot of confidence.”
He is, however, refusing to call himself a favorite despite reaching the final in 2025. “It’s harmful,” he said in Spanish. “We try not to think about it. We will go to Tour, train, try to be as good and comfortable as possible, get the best feelings we can and go all out, compete and stay mentally strong.”
The Davis Cup will follow. “I think we also have a good team to win the Davis Cup,” he said. “These are two very important and very beautiful weeks ahead of us.” Alcaraz seems to wish this stretch of the season never ended.
