Carlos Alcaraz Dismisses ‘Missed Opportunity’ Claims After Loss to Djokovic
Carlos Alcaraz has defended his Australian Open quarter-final defeat to Novak Djokovic, insisting it was not a “missed opportunity.”
The world No. 3 had a strong start, winning the first set, while Djokovic took a medical timeout and appeared to struggle physically. However, the Serbian recovered to claim a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory.
After the match, Djokovic admitted that he might have retired if he had lost the second set. Despite this, Alcaraz said he never believed his opponent would have quit and did not see the match as a lost chance.
“I don’t feel that it was a missed opportunity against Novak,” Alcaraz explained. “I really wanted to win the tournament and felt I was able to, but Novak played an unbelievable match.”
He added, “Facing Novak in the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam is the worst thing. It was a pretty good match. I have tried to take the good things about that match and will look ahead now.”
Alcaraz is now preparing for his debut at the Rotterdam Open but revealed he suffered a setback after falling ill following his return from Australia.
“I spent a few days at home after Australia, but I got a cold. I was struggling a little bit at home. I could only train for two days and then I had to rest until the cold got better,” he said.
Despite the illness, the 21-year-old is ready to compete again and will aim to make an impact at the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam.
