US Open: “I’m not mature enough for these matches,” admits Alcaraz

After two easy victories against Daniil Medvedev this year, Carlos Alcaraz lost a huge standoff against the Russian on Friday in the semi-finals of the US Open and this defeat proves, according to him, that he is "not mature enough to these matches.

How did you experience this match?Carlos Alcaraz: “I started well, the first set was close. But in the tie break, three all, I lost my mind. I played three or four points without any control. I fought for 50 minutes and on four points I lost my mind. And in the second set, I couldn't recover. Of course, Daniil was excellent. I couldn't get my game back and almost threw my racket to the ground. But Daniil is one of the best players in the world, so it's no surprise what he does on court. He knows how to do lots of things well and he makes your life hard. but maybe today he raised his level even higher than I expected. I would have liked to play a final here against Novak, but Daniil deserves it more than me, there is nothing to say.

You said before the tournament that you were more mature. Will this new maturity help you recover from this defeat? “This type of match can happen. He was really, really excellent. To the point that I couldn't find a solution during the match. I thought I was a better player, able to find solutions when the match was not going the right way. But after this match, I will have to reconsider my position: I am not mature enough to manage this kind of matches. I have to learn from it. the main one is that I can't afford to miss the chances I had in the first set. I must not let go in the tie break. These are things I need to improve on if I want to win more Grand Slams and become a better player.”

Is Medvedev becoming one of your big rivals, like Djokovic? “Obviously Daniil is there. He is always there. We faced each other three times this season, in the final of a Masters 1000 (Indian Wells, victory for Alcaraz, editor's note) and in the semi-finals of Grand Slams (Wimbledon, victory for Alcaraz, and US Open, victory for Medvedev, editor's note ). I am convinced that we will find ourselves again in the last rounds of the major tournaments. In each of our matches, we played very good points and fought great battles. So yes, I think it will be a great rivalry.