Carlos Alcaraz, the US Open and a completely different starting point
Carlos Alcaraz will go into the US Open, which starts on August 29th, as one of the favorites. Nevertheless, the signs are completely different than at the French Open.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit:
Aug 21, 2022, 08:55 am
In the run-up to the French Open, Carlos Alcaraz showed a tournament alone that the youngster can win against all three top favorites to win the title in the second major tournament of the year: the 19-year-old conceded with Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev one after the other seasoned players from the top of the world in some impressive manner out of the way to triumph at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid.
Well, in the run-up to the US Open, two tournaments showed the man from El Palmar that even against the guard a row further behind could quickly be the end of the line. Montreal: narrow defeat against a big-playing Tommy Paul. Cincinnati: Narrow defeat against a big-playing Cameron Norrie. Matches that the Spaniard would have both won in the great weeks of the European clay court season.
Alcaraz a little less in the spotlight
Although the young Spaniard will also be one of the absolute top favorites in New York City in just over a week, a similar, all-encompassing hype about Carlos Alcaraz as in the course of the French Open is not for the last Grand Slam tournament of the year expected. And that could be good for the 19-year-old, who has said in recent weeks that it's not always easy to deal with the pressure to win.
Of course, this will not be completely eliminated in New York City, but: the supporters have meanwhile gotten used to the fact that the full dominance of the 19-year-old high-flyer could still be postponed. Because: the density of men is enormous. Check out Cameron Norrie and Tommy Paul. "It hurts to lose games like yesterday, but you have to keep the positive for the US Open," wrote Alcaraz the day after the defeat against the British. Alcaraz will probably not lack self-confidence in Flushing Meadows either.
Alcaraz and the Italian curse
What Alcaraz could also come in handy: The big favorites in New York City do not exist. In all likelihood, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev will not be able to start, Rafael Nadal is fit, but not in the absolute match rhythm. And last year's winner Daniil Medvedev? He is slowly building up form, but is (still) less dominant on the North American hard court than was the case twelve months ago.
In any case, Carlos Alcaraz will have to stop one thing in New York City if the Spaniard wants to pull off the big coup at the last major event of the year: the Italian curse that will accompany the 19-year-old through the entire 2022 season. With Matteo Berrettini, Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti, it is not unlikely that the Spaniard will again be opposed by a man from southern Europe. And that's exactly when Alcaraz will need what was taken for granted from the run-up to the French Open. Even if the signs before the US Open are completely different.