World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz suffered an early exit at the Paris Masters. After winning the first set, he struggled to maintain his game and lost to unseeded Cameron Norrie. The loss was surprising for everyone. However, it seems like renowned coach Patrick Mouratoglou has found the reason for the Spaniard’s defeat, which is mostly due to his mindset.
Patrick Mouratoglou Explains Carlos Alcaraz’s Loss Against Cameron Norrie in the Paris Masters
Alcaraz’s first match at the Paris Masters had an unexpected ending. After taking the first set 6-4, he lost momentum and eventually fell to unseeded Norrie, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Alcaraz struggled with his consistency throughout the match and finished with 54 unforced errors, which is quite an unusually high number for him.
Many experts, like renowned coach Rick Macci, reasoned Alcaraz’s poor movement to be one big reason for his loss. However, Serena Williams’ former coach, Mouratoglou, emphasized the mental aspect of the game in an Instagram video.
“Everyone has a bad day, including the champions. The difference is, champions win,” Mouratoglou said.
“54 unforced errors for Carlos in three sets, it’s way too much. Everybody has days when nothing works the way you want. I mean, even the top. I feel that if Carlos was in a Grand Slam, he would have found a solution because he would have tried a bit more, because he kept playing very high-risk tennis. On days like this, you have to accept to rally more,” he added.
Mouratoglou said that if this had been a Grand Slam, Alcaraz probably would have adjusted his game. “I mean, it’s not easy for those guys to be motivated all year long. Their focus is already on the Grand Slams,” he said.
Mouratoglou continued, “That’s his full focus. That’s why I’m saying I feel that if he was in a Grand Slam, he would have accepted more to work, work, work, and finally find a way to win. He didn’t make these unforced errors just accepting to rally. He did them going for shots, taking a lot of risks, which is his game. No doubt about it. But when it comes to having to win on those days, he has to negotiate more with himself of the high risk tennis and accept to rally more.”
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In the end, Mouratoglou advised Alcaraz to learn how to “win ugly” on bad days, slow things down, “accept to grind, accept to move a little bit back, accept to work the point more,” and do whatever it takes to get the win.
Alcaraz Reflects on His Paris Masters Loss
Alcaraz seemed just as confused as everyone else after his defeat. He even looked visibly upset while having a conversation with his coach during the match. During the post-match interview, he said that he came into Paris feeling “really well” and “with a lot of energy.” Alcaraz said, “This is the best year for me in terms of playing at the end of the year. So I’ve been talking with some other players, with my team, that I feel great.”
However, the World No. 1 admitted that Paris has always been a tricky tournament for him. “I don’t know what happened here. It is a tournament that is really difficult for me to play well, but I will figure it out, and I will end up playing great tennis here, for sure.”
Perhaps the Spaniard took the chance to experiment with his game at the Paris Masters, which didn’t turn in his favor. Looking ahead, Alcaraz said he will now shift his focus to the ATP Finals in Turin and the Davis Cup.