Carlos Alcaraz: ‘I want to keep it as long as possible’

The number 1 in the world, Carlos Alcaraz, admitted that David Goffin played it and that he simply did not know how to react. On Tuesday, top-seeded Alcaraz crashed out at the Astana Open when Goffin, the lucky loser, stunned the Spaniard 7-5 6-3. Alcaraz, 19, played his first ATP match as the new world number 1. The 31-year-old Goffin used all of his experience on Tuesday to spoil Alcaraz’s Nur-Sultan debut for his biggest victory of the season. “He has played great matches, many matches. He also has a lot of experience. He has played better than me, very, very aggressive,” Alcaraz said, according to the ATP website. “I couldn’t handle that pressure that he put on me and of course it’s something I have to learn and take lessons from this match.” Alcaraz started the match with an early break and a 2-1 lead before Goffin responded with back-to-back breaks to overturn the lead and take a 5-2 lead. Alcaraz recovered the break and tied the set at five games, but then failed to serve for the tie-break in the twelfth game. After winning the first set, Goffin broke Alcaraz twice in the second to complete a straight-set victory. “It was a tough game, as you can see. He was playing very, very well,” Alcaraz said. “Coming back to compete is never easy. He has played two games on this track. It is not easy to get used to it, it is very, very slow. It was very hard for me, for my confidence. I tried to quickly get used to this court, but I couldn’t and he was better than me in this match.”

Alcaraz on his new status

Carlos Alcaraz spoke about his new status at the ATP. Everything went very quickly for the youngest world number 1, who nevertheless always dreamed of finding himself in this place. But for 2022, he was “only” aiming for the top 15! “I haven’t had time to fully realize what I achieved in New York. The truth is that I’m still the same, I think nothing has changed in me since I was number one. The world of tennis does not stop, every week a new adventure begins and you cannot think of what you have done. It was spectacular to win the US Open, but what you have to do is stay focused on training and achieving your goals. I want to give my best in all events by the end of the year. I never thought that I would arrive so quickly at the first place in the world, but now that I am there, I want to keep it as long as possible”, announced the young Spaniard.