Carlos Alcaraz returns to the Cincinnati Open a year after losing to Novak Djokovic in an exhausting three-hour and forty-nine-minute championship match.
This time, he has more experience.
One year after losing to Novak Djokovic in an arduous title battle, Carlos Alcaraz returns to the Cincinnati Open. This time, he has more experience to draw from.
The Spaniard, who competed in the men’s doubles at the Paris Olympics alongside Rafael Nadal, brings invaluable experience to his resume. Upon arrival in Cincinnati, Alcaraz was questioned about his impressions of his week-long stay with Nadal at the Paris Olympics.
Alcaraz said during his press conference in Cincinnati: “It was a great experience talking with Rafa off the court, knowing each other much better off the court. It was a great experience, obviously, playing doubles together. It was great. It was something that I will never forget, for sure. I learned a lot talking to him on court and off the court as well. I think we played great tennis in doubles, even if we are not used to playing doubles very often. It was a little bit disappointing at the end because we thought that we could do it better, but in general, we were happy.”
He added: “Obviously talking about myself, I reached my dream, and my dream came true, playing doubles alongside Rafa. How to deal with some situations when playing doubles. Sometimes when we were down, he was there in a positive way, talking to me like, ‘Well, right now they are going to feel [it] with the pressure. We have to just stay there, put some balls in, and try to get them in trouble. In some situations, some things that you probably don’t see or are difficult to see, he sees very clearly, off the court, how to prepare for difficult situations or matches. It was a master class.”
Alcaraz won the silver medal in singles after losing to Djokovic in two tiebreakers for the gold. Alcaraz, who won Wimbledon and Roland Garros this year, is determined to recover from his setback and continue aiming for and achieving in the most prestigious championships.
Carlos Alcaraz in 2024
Currently ranked no.3, Alcaraz played his last match on the 4th of August when he was defeated by world no.2 Novak Djokovic 7-6(3) 7-6(2) in the final in Paris (draw).
During this season Alcaraz has a 38-7 record. Alcaraz conquered 3 titles in 2024 in Indian Wells, French Open and Wimbledon. Alcaraz was the runner-up in Paris.
Carlos Alcaraz will take on the world no.330 Gabi Adrian Boitan in the . In the past, they have never competed against each other until now on the main tour.
Alcaraz clinched 3 titles in 2024 in Indian Wells, French Open and Wimbledon. Alcaraz was the finalist in Paris (Olympics).
Rafael Nadal in 2024
Currently ranked no.159, the Spaniard played his last match on the 29th of July when he lost to world no.2 Novak Djokovic 6-1 6-4 in the 2nd round in Paris (draw).
This season Nadal achieved a composed 12-7 win-loss record. Rafael Nadal’s most significant result of this year was reaching the final in Bastad.
Nadal is scheduled to play next at the U.S. Open (U.S. Open). He will start from the main draw that will commence on the 26th of August.
Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal played each other 3 times. Their head to head is 2-1 for Nadal. The last time they played each other, Carlos Alcaraz won 6-2 1-6 6-3 in the quarter in Madrid (Mutua Madrid Open) in May 2022.