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Carlos Alcaraz has explained the reasons for his recent woes after losing his first-ever match at the ATP Finals. The world No 2 was defeated by Alexander Zverev on Monday, marking his third loss in a row. In a brutally honest assessment of his recent dip in form, Alcaraz blamed mental fatigue.<\/p>\n
Alcaraz suffered another loss on Monday as Zverev came back from a set down to beat the ATP Finals debutant 6-7(3) 6-3 6-4. It came after an uncharacteristic opening-round defeat in Paris-Bercy and a round-of-16 exit at the Shanghai Masters, marking the first time he has been on a three-match losing streak since March 2021.<\/p>\n
The 20-year-old had a glittering start to the season, winning titles in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, Barcelona, Madrid, Queen\u2019s and his second Major crown at Wimbledon. He then lost a near-four-hour final to Novak Djokovic in Cincinnati and his best results since have been semi-final appearances at the US Open and the Beijing ATP 500.<\/p>\n
After his defeat to Zverev, the Spaniard issued a candid verdict as he admitted he wasn\u2019t \u201cfeeling well at a tennis level\u201d and had been feeling tired mentally, reminding reporters that he was still only 20 years old. \u201cThe truth is that I had been training quite well, with good feelings,\u201d Alcaraz told Spanish media, per AS.<\/p>\n
Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive tennis news.<\/strong><\/p>\n Just in <\/strong> Raducanu told to copy tennis player just months older than her on injury return[LATEST] <\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cPhysically, I feel good and I continue to feel good after the game. But after a defeat like today, the truth is that I have not felt well at a tennis level. I have to improve.\u201d Alcaraz had also been focused on obtaining the year-end No 1 ranking but his early exits in recent tournaments ruined his chances and Djokovic ended up securing the achievement on Sunday.<\/p>\n In the future, Alcaraz knows that he can\u2019t get exhausted as the year nears its end or he won\u2019t have a chance to end another season atop the rankings. He continued: \u201cIn the end the year has been a very long, very demanding year. I have to improve to reach this point of the year in better condition, especially on a mental level.<\/p>\n \u201cProbably tiredness and mental exhaustion, from being in a fairly high demand for so long. It is something that, if I ever want to win this tournament, if I want to finish the year as No 1, I have to improve and reach this point in the year calm, well and wanting to win everything that is thrown my way. But well, in the end I think I put it down to mental fatigue.\u201d<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/72\/590x\/secondary\/5064443.jpg?r=1699910638268\")
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