Carlos Alcaraz says what players do differently against him after surviving scare vs Matteo Arnaldi, ‘it’s a compliment’
· Yahoo Sports
Carlos Alcaraz has continued his Japan Open title defence, but it was certainly not a routine victory against Matteo Arnaldi.
Alcaraz had to beat Alex Michelsen in three sets in his opening match in Tokyo, and it appeared that he would have to do the same after finding himself 6-2 down in the first set tie-break against Arnaldi.
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Despite this, Alcaraz was able to fight back and after saving four set points, beat Arnaldi 7-6(6), 6-1.
After reaching the quarter-finals at the Japan Open once again, Alcaraz made an admission about how he thinks players feel differently when they face him.
Carlos Alcaraz claims players raise their level against him after beating Matteo Arnaldi
Alcaraz spoke in an interview live on court after the match, where he admitted that he had already started thinking about what he was going to do differently in the second set after finding himself 6-2 down in the first set tie-break, as he heaped praise on Arnaldi’s level.
“Obviously, when you’re down 6-2 in the tie-break, you think you have to do something different in the second set, trying to be better, and obviously win in three sets,” said Alcaraz. “But obviously I tried to stay there, point by point.
“I think I changed a little bit the way how I played up to that moment, and it worked out. Just happy that I got the first set, it was tough. I think he was playing at an incredible level. He was hitting the forehand, and I was out of the zone every time. I’m very happy that I won it.
“Obviously, that allowed me to return to the court for the second set more relaxed, thinking about the things I’ve got to do that had worked for me from 6-2 to 8-6 in the tie-break. I think everything went pretty well. He made a couple of errors that made me get into the game again. I’m very happy to have won in two sets.”
Alcaraz was then asked directly about how players seem to produce their best tennis against him, which he appears to agree with, calling it a compliment for himself. Alcaraz then previewed his upcoming quarter-final against Denis Shapovalov, as he revealed what he expects to have to do.
“Obviously, I’d say that every player that plays against me, they feel like they have to raise their level a little bit if they want to win,” answered Alcaraz. “I would say it’s a compliment for me. It means I have great tennis and I think they feel a little bit out of the zone. But I’ve got to be ready for that, I’ve got to be ready for everything they might do every time they step onto the court.
“I know that Denis plays great tennis, really aggressive. So I have to be ready to run, defend, attack, to do everything the match demands me to do. We’ll see. I think it’s going to be a great match and I’m really looking forward to playing him once again.”
Carlos Alcaraz vs Denis Shapovalov Head-to-Head
Alcaraz has played Shapovalov twice before, and despite praising the former top 10 player, he is likely to be feeling confident heading into this match.
The two previous encounters have both been straight sets wins for Alcaraz, with the most recent taking place at Indian Wells last year.
However, Shapovalov does appear to be rediscovering some form during the Asian swing after reaching the semi-finals in Chengdu last week, before reaching the last-eight in Tokyo.
YearTournamentResult2023Roland Garros (R32)Alcaraz beat Shapovalov, 6-1 6-4 6-22025Indian Wells (R32)Alcaraz beat Shapovalov, 6-2 6-4Alcaraz is now on a seven-match winning streak at the Japan Open, something he will be hoping to extend when he faces Shapovalov on Sunday, October 4.
The winner of the match between Alcaraz and Shapovalov will face either Jaume Munar or Kyrian Jacquet.