PARIS: Carlos Alcaraz arrived at the Paris Masters in rich form, but the Spaniard’s campaign in the French capital came to an end much sooner than anyone expected after Britain’s Cameron Norrie suffered a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat.
Fresh from winning titles at the US Open, the Cincinnati Open and the Japan Open, six-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz was off his game, making 54 unforced errors and expressing his frustration in brief conversations with coach Juan Carlos Ferrero.
It was another disappointing performance for Alcaraz at the Masters 1000 tournament, where he never advanced beyond the quarterfinals.
The world number one, who has withdrawn from this month’s Shanghai Masters, told reporters he had “no feeling at all” for the ball after Tuesday’s defeat.
“I came here with a lot of energy. I came here with the idea that I could achieve good results because I played very good tennis. This is the best year for me when it comes to playing at the end of the year,” he added.
“I talked to some other players, my team, and told them that I feel great. Other years I felt exhausted, I felt tired, but this year I feel good. I skipped Shanghai. I spent a lot of days at home and I was able to enjoy myself and relax there.”
“It helped recharge my battery, so I don’t know what happened here. This is a tournament that is very difficult for me to play well, but I will figure it out and in the end I will play great tennis here.”
Alcaraz will be in action at the ATP Finals next month, before representing Spain at the Davis Cup Finals.
“I will try to prepare myself as best as I can, coming to Turin, coming to the Davis Cup, very important tournaments that I have ahead of me now,” said the 22-year-old.
“Right now I just want to be back home, and let’s see what I’m going to do. Of course I’m going to practice and prepare myself, and obviously I’m going to try not to let this happen again.”
