By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday October 5, 2023
The mental game is the key to elite success, says Carlos Alcaraz.
After losing in the semifinal in Beijing to his rival Jannik Sinner, in a match in which he later admitted he was out of his mind in the second set, Alcaraz told the ATP that he is still very much a progress when it comes to controlling his emotions in the most productive way on the tennis court.
“I always say that mentally is the toughest part to practice, but at the same time is the most important thing if you want to be the best in tennis,” Alcaraz said. “I'm trying to work in every in every practice, in every tournament that I go, to learn from from the things that I probably was not doing well.
“For example, the last match against Jannik, I said that I was out of my mind in the second set, so this is something that I have to work on and I am trying not to have it happen the next time.”
Alcaraz said he has to find ways to work on it in practice, but admits it is not always easy to replicate the stress, drama and chaos of on-court emotions.
“I want to be the best so I have to practice mentally to be strong enough to play at the same level and not have ups and downs,” he said.
Hungry to Chase Down No.1
Besides working on his mental game, Alcaraz’s biggest goal for the next month and a half is to finish the year with the No.1 ranking.
He’s currently 580 points behind Novak Djokovic in the Race to Turin standings, but he’ll have a chance to pass the 24-time major champion this week – Djokovic is the only Top-20 player that is missing from the Shanghai Masters draw.
It’s a big opportunity - and a great motivation for Alcaraz.
“Almost in every practice,” he said. “I'm not gonna lie. Obviously I practice with a goal. I go to tournaments with a goal. It is to end the year as the number one, so Novak Djokovic is on my mind almost in every practice. “I have to practice at my best, I have to go 100 percent on every ball, to be able to catch him.”