Carlos Alcaraz uses Emma Raducanu excuse as Spaniard reflects on early US Open exit

Carlos Alcaraz has used the same excuse as Emma Raducanu for his shock US Open loss. The world No. 3 was one of the favourites to lift the trophy in Flushing Meadows after winning back-to-back Grand Slam titles over the summer. But he was stunned by unseeded star Botic van de Zandsculp in the second round. After having time to reflect on his defeat, Alcaraz explained why he crashed out.

Alcaraz is back in action at this week’s Davis Cup group stage to represent his country. Spain is hosting the rest of Group B in Valencia and their first tie will be played against Czechia on Wednesday. It will be the four-time Major winner’s first outing on a match court since he was dumped out in the second round of the US Open – his earliest Grand Slam exit in more than three years. And Alcaraz has now addressed his massive upset.

“[The North-American swing] was a tour that I hoped would be better. I haven’t managed to play at the level I would have liked, but in the end it’s very difficult to perform at the level you want every day and you have to be prepared to accept things as they come,” he said ahead of the Davis Cup. “I think I lacked preparation after a very intense summer, with few days of rest, disconnection and training for the American tour and to get there in the best possible way. It’s an experience from which to learn for the future.”

Alcaraz isn’t the only player who feels he came to the US Open undercooked. Former champion Raducanu admitted that she should have played more in the lead-up to the tournament following her first-round loss to Sofia Kenin. “Yeah, I would have preferred to probably play, a little bit more before coming into the US Open,” the tearful Brit said after the match. But Raducanu chose not to play as much. The 21-year-old skipped the Olympics and entered the WTA 500 in Washington, reaching the quarter-final.

Instead of building on her run, she flew home to the UK to continue training and opted not to play the qualifying events at the WTA 1000s in Canada and Cincinnati when she failed to get into the main draws. Meanwhile, Alcaraz had minimal time to prepare after reaching the final of the Olympics where he lost to Novak Djokovic and took home the silver medal. He pulled out of the Canadian Open because of the quick turnaround and headed to Cincinnati, losing his opening match to Gael Monfils.

And the packed schedule has had other consequences for Alcaraz, who completed the ‘Channel Slam’ by winning the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back. “Well I had a few days after every tournament but probably the bad thing- and the good thing as well – is we have no time to relax and think about it,” he said. “At some points, I really want to have more time to relax, to celebrate it, to think about what we have done so far. But at other points, I prefer not to think about it too much, I just try to keep going and focus on the next steps. Let’s say I’ve had no time to stay calm and think about my summer.”