Carlos Alcaraz made a brutally honest admission about how he felt mentally after his shock opening match loss to David Goffin at the 2025 Miami Open.
The world No 3 was beaten 7-5, 6-4, 6-3 by 55th-ranked Goffin on the Stadium Court at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
Alcaraz, who received a bye to the second round in Miami, was playing his first match since his semi-final defeat to Jack Draper at the Indian Wells Open last week.
It was Alcaraz’s earliest exit in Miami since he lost in the first round on his debut at the Masters 1000 tournament in 2021.
The Spaniard secured his maiden Masters 1000 title in Miami in 2022, while he reached the semi-finals in 2023 and the quarter-finals in 2024.
The four-time Grand Slam champion won his only title so far this season at the Rotterdam Open in February.
Asked how he felt personally after the match, Alcaraz reflected with candour on the painful loss.
“I don’t know yet what the next few days will be like for me. There’ll be time to analyse what happened and also to forget about it,” the four-time major winner told the media (translated from Spanish).
ATP Tour News
How Carlos Alcaraz’s Miami loss affects ATP Rankings battle with Jannik Sinner & Alexander Zverev
Carlos Alcaraz reacts to Miami Open upset loss as David Goffin reveals key to his stunning win
“I know this part of the season very well; I’ve played great tennis in the past at these tournaments, but after what happened today, I don’t really know what to say.
“I think I was feeling good after Indian Wells, but now with this loss, I don’t know what to say. Mentally, I’m screwed, to be honest. This is a tournament where I want to do well, and losing in the first round hurts a lot.”
Alcaraz, who complained to the umpire about the serve clock rule in the second set, insisted the exchange had no impact on the match.
“Not at all, it didn’t make me lose focus. I just told the chair umpire that the time rule is ridiculous. They want to make tennis a little faster, make sure it’s there, but the margins are ridiculous,” the 21-year-old explained.
“I finished the point at the net and barely had time to do my routines, or even for the ball boy to do his job. You could see he was a bit confused, not really knowing what he was supposed to do.
“In the end, you waste a lot more time going to the towel, which is why I complained, because I feel like the time we have from the end of the point until we call for new balls is ridiculous.”
On how he felt prior to the match, Alcaraz added: “I felt great, I was fine, just a little nervous as usual before every match, but nothing out of the ordinary in these types of situations, nothing I hadn’t felt before.
“I felt prepared, convinced I could put on a good level of tennis, but in the end it just wasn’t to be. I did everything right before the match; it wasn’t a question of an injury or any other pain; I was fine before the match.
“I did have the feeling after the first set that this match was going to be tougher than previous ones, then I started to feel a little more tired in my legs, especially at the end of the second set.”
The post Carlos Alcaraz opens up on mental state and addresses umpire dispute after Miami Open exit appeared first on Tennis365.
Leave a Reply