Spanish tennis star Carlos Alcaraz has disclosed that Novak Djokovic’s shock first-round exit at the US Open is a big surprise.
After winning his own opening match against Roman Safiullin at Flushing Meadows, Alcaraz admitted he stayed up to watch the fifth set of Djokovic’s historic defeat to Mariano Navone.
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Alcaraz noted that seeing a player of Djokovic’s caliber go out in the opening round is rare and unexpected.
He emphasized that every match in a Grand Slam is difficult and requires maximum focus from the first ball to the last.
“I saw the fifth set. And well, obviously it was the first time that Novak losing the first round here in this tournament. So it’s a big surprise, to be honest,” Alcaraz said at press conference.
“Someone like Novak going out in the tournament in the first round, it’s surprising,” he continued. “But, you know, here it’s, you know, every Grand Slam is really difficult to get through every round.
“Every player, you know, it’s really tough. You have to earn, you know, the win since the first ball until the last one.
“You say it was in my part of the draw, but, you know, he was in the semi. So for me, the semi is too far away. So I just try to be on my run.
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“The body gets used to not playing five sets. When you get back to that rhythm of competition, a Grand Slam, well, physically you think if you’re going to hold on or not.”
Even though Djokovic’s exit cleared a potential semi-final path in his half of the draw, Alcaraz stated that the semi-finals were too far away to consider, choosing instead to focus entirely on his own recovery and next opponent.
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Source: Complete Sports
