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Carlos Alcaraz reveals mentally he is trying to “forget” that he is the defending US Open champion and will do his best to “focus on match by match.” Alcaraz, 20, became a Grand Slam champion after beating Casper Ruud in last year’s US Open final.
Since then, Alcaraz has also won his second Grand Slam after beating Novak Djokovic in this year’s Wimbledon final. Now, Alcaraz hopes to defend his US Open title and finish this year as a three-time Grand Slam champion.“Every slam I go to I try to win it.
I have very good memories of last year, so let’s go for it,” Alcaraz told AFP.
Alcaraz: Mentally, I’m trying to forget I’m defending the title
“Mentally, we’re going to try to forget that I’m defending the title, we’re just going to focus match by match, show our best level in each match and see if at the end of it all I play at my best level and can get the second title here,” Alcaraz said.Leading up to the US Open, Alcaraz played in two tournaments.
At the Toronto Masters, Alcaraz suffered a surprise quarterfinal loss to Tommy Paul. Last week, Alcaraz bounced back at the Cincinnati Masters as he made the final before losing to Novak Djokovic in an absolute thriller. Now, Alcaraz is set to defend his US Open title.
On Thursday, Alcaraz learned that Dominik Koepfer will be his first-round opponent at Flushing Meadows. When Alcaraz and world No 78 Koepfer meet in the US Open first round, it will be their first-ever meeting. Going into the match, Alcaraz is the absolute favorite to beat Koepfer.
Going into this year’s US Open, Alcaraz and Djokovic are considered the two top favorites for the title. Alcaraz and Djokovic are also the two top-seeded players and they could potentially meet only in the US Open final.
