Carlos Alcaraz was struggling after the Olympic Games but he soon found his form again thanks to the Davis Cup and Laver Cup.
The 21-year-old was left in tears after agonisingly missing out becoming Olympic champion courtesy of Novak Djokovic.
He won a total of just one match during the North American hard swing and exited the US Open in the second round.
Many were left stunned by how Alcaraz’s form had dipped, but the Spaniard did not panic and was soon placed in an environment that enabled him to find his spark again.
How did the Davis Cup and Laver help Carlos Alcaraz start playing better?
Carlos Alcaraz had lost his form and he even said he had taken a step back mentally after a poor American summer.
But after a disappointing campaign at Flushing Meadows, Alcaraz turned his attention to representing Spain in the Davis Cup.
He won each of his matches as Spain defeated Australia, France and Czechia in Group B to advance to November’s ‘Final 8’ stage.
Soon after his exploits for his country, Alcaraz won eight of Team Europe’s 13 points as they defeated Team World to regain the Laver Cup.
Following these events, Alcaraz started to feel confident again and rekindled his love for tennis, as he said during his press conference ahead of the Shanghai Masters.
“Practice, I had a really good month of practice after the American swing,” Alcaraz said when asked how he turned his form around.
“And of course the Davis Cup and the Laver Cup helped me a lot to get the energy back and get motivated again. I love playing team competitions with all the people who are around just to help me to be better and feeling great off the court as well, that for me is really important.
“Those competitions help me a lot to get the joy back on the court and learn let’s say being focused on what’s next. So I came here to Asia with a lot of energy and enjoy every single second that I step on the court.”
Who will Carlos Alcaraz play at the Shanghai Masters?
Alcaraz arrived in Shanghai less than 24 hours after defeating World number one Jannik Sinner in an enthralling China Open final to claim the title.
Alcaraz came from a set down to win 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(3) in three hours and claim his fourth ATP title of the season.
There is no rest for Alcaraz as he will begin his Shanghai Masters campaign this week against home favourite Shang Juncheng.
Alcaraz is trying to win China’s lone Masters 1000 title for the first time in his career but he will face stiff competition from the likes of Sinner and four-time Shanghai champion Novak Djokovic.
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