Shanghai, China, Oct 11 (EFE).- The world tennis number two, the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz, said today that “it is difficult to assimilate not to take advantage” of a “great opportunity” to reach the top of the ranking again after saying goodbye to the Shanghai Masters, leaving the Russian Rublev as the only ‘top 10’ in the quarters.
“Having an opportunity like this in a Masters 1000, it is difficult to assimilate not to take advantage of it,” said the tennis player at a press conference after falling in the round of 16 to 19th-ranked Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria (5-7, 6-2, 6-4).
“With this defeat, (the number one ranking) is a little further away. It’s going to be more difficult (…) I have some tournaments ahead of me, and I will try to do my best to win them if I want to have a chance to finish the year as number one. I have missed many opportunities to get it,” said Alcaraz.
Despite everything, the Spaniard said he was not disappointed: “We must focus on winning and beyond that. Grigor (Dimitrov) is a high-level player. Today, he has shown it. He played great tennis. I won’t say that I played very badly or that it was one of my worst matches. I think I played very well.”
Asked about the key to his defeat, Alcaraz assured that he should have started the second set better after winning the first set with a comeback: “It was a bit of a surprise for me the way he started the second set after a tough first set. He maintained that level and intensity throughout the second and third.”
“He didn’t let me put my game in the match. I was always struggling to find a way to get my own game into the match, but I couldn’t. I was all the time defending, and I couldn’t find the time to put myself in a position to attack,” explained the Spaniard.
His next appointment will be at the end of the month at the Open 500 in Basel, Switzerland. The Spanish tennis player assured that he will work precisely on being more concentrated in the second sets when he has won the first: “It’s a defeat that hurts, obviously, but that makes you improve for the future. We will try to take advantage to train those little details that made me miss this match and not to let it happen again.” EFE
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