Carlos Alcaraz made a comeback to the game at the Cincinnati Open last week, having lost to Novak Djokovic in the Olympic gold medal play-off match in Paris. He faced French veteran Gael Monfils in the second round after receiving a bye.
Alcaraz took the opening set and looked certain to win easily. But Monfils persevered and took the second set to a tie-break, where he led 3-1 until the weather called for play to be stopped. In their rematch the next day, the Frenchman prevailed 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 after mounting a heroic comeback.
The teenage Spaniard struggled to adjust to Cincinnati’s fast-paced environment and even broke his racquet in a fit of rage. A decline may begin with an early withdrawal, but that is unlikely to be the case in this instance. Regarding his form, it’s premature to raise red flags despite the loss for the following reasons:
A strong match player, Carlos Alcaraz has improved at the Majors recently.
Carlos Alcaraz’s prep for the US Open got off on the wrong foot with an early exit from the Cincinnati Open. However, going by his past track record, he’s known to bounce back in spectacular fashion, almost immediately.
Alcaraz missed a good chunk of the clay swing this year and only competed at the Madrid Open, where he was the two-time defending champion. He lost to Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals. As such, he wasn’t the leading contender to win the French Open, given the injury concerns surrounding him and his form.
The 21-year-old proved the doubters wrong, as he beat the in-form Jannik Sinner in five sets in the semifinals, and then staged a fightback to one-up Alexander Zverev in the summit clash. Back in the winner’s circle once again, he was expected to crush his opponents on grass as he remained unbeaten on the surface last year.
That wasn’t the case this time as Alcaraz’s title defence at the Cinch Championships at Queen’s Club came to an end in the second round. He then staged a quick turnaround to defend his title at Wimbledon, with a convincing win over Djokovic in the final.
The Spaniard has shown twice this year that regardless of what happens before a Major, it’s a fool’s errand to count him out. He thrives at the biggest stages of the sport, and hasn’t failed to rise to the occasion when it mattered.
Carlos Alcaraz has performed well at the US Open even without winning a title in the lead-up to it
Carlos Alcaraz hasn’t won a championship before the US Open, but that hasn’t stopped him from competing well at the last Major of the season. In 2021, he ran in the US summer swing for the first time. He lost badly in the opening round of the Cincinnati Open, but he bounced back to finish in the semifinals of the Winston-Salem Open.
Alcaraz made a remarkable start at the US Open, progressing to the quarterfinals by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas, ranked third in the world. He has never defeated a player ranked in the top ten. An injury eventually forced him to withdraw from his match against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the round of eight.
The next year at the Canadian Open, the Spaniard was eliminated early after failing to win a single match. He got better, making it to the Cincinnati Open quarterfinals, and then won his first Grand Slam title at the US Open.
For the US Open last year, Alcaraz had the best possible preparation. He began the year by placing in the Canadian Open quarterfinals and nearly winning the Cincinnati Open. But Djokovic held onto a championship point to keep him from winning. Later on, he advanced to the New York semifinals.
Regardless of his performance leading up to the competition, Alcaraz has consistently advanced to the US Open’s second week. With a 16-2 lifetime record in New York, he comes into the Majors this year riding a 14-game winning streak. From Djokovic to Sinner, he will face many threats, but he has already defeated them all.
Even if an early loss hurts, especially for a player of his calibre, Alcaraz just needs to consider his previous outings to know that he will bounce back from this temporary slump. In just two weeks, he will have won three consecutive Major titles, which wouldn’t be all that shocking given the number of comebacks he has previously accomplished in his brief career.
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