World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz expressed deep frustration after his unexpected defeat to Bulgarian veteran Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open on Thursday. The 20-year-old Spanish sensation was ousted in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, halting his bid to achieve the Sunshine Double following his recent triumph at Indian Wells.
Alcaraz, who had been in formidable form, found himself struggling against the 32-year-old Dimitrov for the second time in succession, following a three-set loss at the Shanghai Masters last year. Reflecting on the match, Alcaraz admitted, “He played amazing tennis, almost perfect. I couldn’t find solutions. I couldn’t find a way to make him feel uncomfortable on the court. It was a great game from his side.”
The young Spaniard revealed the depth of his frustration, adding, “I left the court thinking that probably I had to change my game a little bit earlier, but anyway, I feel like I played good tennis. Not perfect, but good. But I have a lot of frustrations right now because he made me feel like I’m 13 years old. It was crazy. I was talking to my team, saying that I don’t know what I have to do. I don’t know his weakness. I don’t know anything.”
Despite the setback, Alcaraz remains determined to adapt and overcome in future encounters. “Probably the next match that I’m going to play against him, and I’m sure that there’s going to be another one, I’ll try to do a lot of different things,” he said. “Let’s see how it’s going to be.”
Meanwhile, Dimitrov, currently ranked World No. 12, advances to his fourth semifinal of the season, where he will face Germany’s Alexander Zverev. A victory could propel Dimitrov back into the top 10 rankings. Commenting on his approach, Dimitrov stated, “I’m not going to think from now what I can do. It’s just very important to stay in the moment. That’s what our game is about. That’s the beauty of our game, and it’s always the simplest things that are the most difficult to do.”
He added, “This is actually what I did tonight. I was just trying to do everything as simple as possible… I think, in a way, same thing tomorrow, the same thing every match I’m going to be playing from now on. There’s no pulling back.”
The Miami Open continues to deliver unexpected twists, keeping fans and analysts worldwide engaged as the season unfolds.
Reference(s):
Felt like a 13-year-old, says Alcaraz after loss to Dimitrov in Miami
cgtn.com
