After Olympic heartbreak, Carlos Alcaraz is starting his bid for a second US Open title in Cincinnati this week.
Carlos Alcaraz is used to being the favorite at all the tournaments he plays in, yet is still keen to develop and improve ahead of the hard court season.
Playing in his first hard court tournament since his quarter-final defeat to Grigor Dimitrov in Miami five months ago, the 21-year-old has enjoyed the best few months of his career.
A winning run in Paris followed up promptly by retaining his Wimbledon title saw Alcaraz enter the Olympics as the hot favorite to take gold.
He ultimately fell short in two tiebreaks to Novak Djokovic and interestingly succumbed to the same fate in the Cincinnati Open final 12 months ago.
With points to defend in the midwest, Alcaraz has been reflecting on his ability to handle the pressure on the biggest stages.
Carlos Alcaraz outlines one aspect of his game he’s trying to improve
Despite the four major titles before the age of 22, Alcaraz surprisingly still has several areas on which he hopes to improve.
Speaking ahead of his first match in Cincinnati, set to possibly be against Montreal’s new champion Alexei Popyrin, the Spaniard spoke about how he handles nerves and pressure during the most intense moments.
“Sometimes I feel the nerves much more than other moments or other matches,” he explained to Tennis TV. “I am trying to be calmer in some situations. I am improving on that.
“Sometimes I go back a little bit to when I was starting my career to be really nervous and go super fast in everything.
“I am trying to be calmer and think clearly in some situations. Most of the time I am doing it but sometimes it is difficult to do it.”
While the 21-year-old has been open about the difficulties he’s encountered pressure-wise, it’s worth remembering that he has won every major final he has been in.
Is Carlos Alcaraz wounded after his Olympic defeat?
Alcaraz’s Olympic final defeat may have left a few scars that may be difficult to paint over.
With Cincinnati approaching, the Spaniard will have been recently reminded of his agonizing defeat last time round to Djokovic.
The week in between his Olympic defeat and the start of his hard court swing perhaps left the youngster doubting some of his ability.
A tremendously difficult run in Cincinnati will see Alcaraz truly tested, with him likely to face five previous Masters 1000 winners in his five matches to the final.
While his first tournament on the hard courts since March, the Spaniard won’t be viewing this as a test run, with Alcaraz having lofty aspirations for the end of the year.
After having missed out on a spot in the final at the last US Open, Alcaraz is set for a busy August, with ambitions of securing his third grand slam title this year still very much alive.
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