Alcaraz: "The impression of not dominating

Elio Valotto

le 06/10/2024 à 18h38

1 min to read

Alcaraz Shanghai Wu

Carlos Alcaraz didn't take it easy on Sunday.

Up against a Yibing Wu with a bluffing level of play, the world number 2 needed more than 1h30 of play to qualify (7-6, 6-3).

Questioned in the press conference, Alcaraz admitted he was very relieved to have come through in two sets: "I'm not used to feeling like this, but I had the impression I wasn't dominating the match. His level is impressive.

He didn't let me play as aggressively as I wanted to, or as aggressively as I've been doing in recent weeks. He hit harder than me, deeper than me.

I had to lengthen the exchanges. I have to give him credit, because he played a really solid game.

He could have won that first set, so I'm just glad I was able to win the tie-break.

In the second set, things went much better for me. I think I played better, calmed down, managed to de-stress and think clearly.

But I knew his level at the start of the match, so I wasn't at all surprised.

I knew it was going to be a battle, so I was ready for it, but I'm really, really happy to have come through in two sets."