The usually mild-mannered Carlos Alcaraz let his frustrations get the best of him during his straight-sets loss to Alexander Zverev in the final group stage match of the ATP Finals on Thursday. The loss meant that the Spaniard crashed out of the year-ending tournament.
After dropping the first set in a tiebreaker (7-5), Alcaraz was seen throwing his racket in anger before uttering some words to his team in the box. It was a rare moment when the World No. 3 let his frustrations manifest on a tennis court.
It was remarkable that Alcaraz even forced a tiebreaker in the first set, considering the uncharacteristic errors he made in the early goings. Things got only worse in the second set as Alcaraz committed 34 unforced errors for the match. It also didn’t help that his opponent, Zverev, played a nearly flawless match, completing 55/70 of his first serves and winning 38 percent of his return points. Alcaraz got two opportunities to break Zverev’s serve in the second set but came up short on both occasions.
During his ATP Finals run in Turin, Alcaraz was dealing with an illness, which he overcame in his win over Andrey Rublev on Wednesday. However, he refused to use his illness as an excuse for the straight-sets loss to the World No. 2 German.
“It was a difficult week for me, but it’s a privilege to be here among the eight best players in the world,” Alcaraz said, via ATPTour.com. “I’m going to learn from what has happened. I played good tennis, but today I faced one of the best. I’m disappointed with the defeat. One of my goals is to reach this part of the year feeling fresher. I was better than last year, but not good enough. I want to be as fresh as possible mentally and enjoy every one of my matches.”
Alcaraz will next travel to Malaga to represent Spain in the final stages of the Davis Cup, which kicks off on Nov. 19. He will team up with his mentor, Rafael Nadal, in his swan song from the sport. Ahead of Spain’s clash with the Netherlands in the quarterfinals, Alcaraz said he’s determined to ensure Nadal gets a triumphant exit from tennis.
