Carlos Alcaraz admits what he's finding it 'really difficult' to do in Cincinnati already after winning his first round

Carlos Alcaraz was able to return to winning ways in a challenging opening match at the Cincinnati Open.

Alcaraz had not competed since losing the Wimbledon final, taking some time away from the match court.

This included Alcaraz withdrawing from the Canadian Open, as did many top players including Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic.

Now, he has returned to the ATP Tour at the Cincinnati Open, a tournament where Alcaraz struggled last year and continues to face issues.

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Carlos Alcaraz admits it is ‘difficult’ to play good tennis at the Cincinnati Open

Alcaraz is a former Cincinnati Open finalist, but lost his only match at the tournament last year to Gael Monfils.

The five-time Grand Slam champion was put under some pressure this year as well by Damir Dzumhur, who also troubled Alcaraz at Roland Garros.

After eventually coming through the match to beat Dzumhur, 6-1 2-6 6-3, Alcaraz called the match a ‘rollercoaster’ and spoke about the many feelings he had throughout.

“Well I just feel like it was a rollercoaster, you know, a lot of good feelings, bad feelings, back to the good ones,” Alcaraz said in his on-court interview. “All I can say is just I’m just happy to win, to get the win at the end and just know that I will have another chance just to be better.

“I will try tomorrow to have my confidence back, because today, I just say, it was a little bit tricky. Damir plays really smart tennis, I would say I have to be really focused on be ready for that. Rest day tomorrow too, as I said, to give myself the confident back and that hopefully be in ready in the next round.”

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Despite being a former runner-up, the Cincinnati Open is one of Alcaraz’s weaker Masters 1000 tournaments.

When asked what he had learnt from his victory over Dzmhur, Alcaraz admitted that he finds it difficult to play well and suggested that the balls are hard to control.

“Well, I just have to keep keeping giving myself chances during the match,” said Alcaraz. “Here it is difficult to play great tennis, the ball flies a lot, goes super fast, you have to be ready, you know, to be in a position for every shot.

“So that’s that’s really, really difficult to make. So you have to know that there will be a few, you know, points, games in the match that you’re not going to feel good, so you have to maintain the positive things, the positive thoughts and just keep it going in the right way.

“So that’s what they learned playing in Cincinnati and I think today I did pretty well. So I’m just relieved about getting the win.”

Carlos Alcaraz’s record at the Cincinnati Open

Alcaraz struggled throughout the North American hard court swing last year, winning just one match at the Cincinnati Open and US Open combined.

The only two Masters 1000 tournaments where Alcaraz has a lower win-loss percentage are the Canadian Open and the Paris Masters.

However, in the aforementioned Cincinnati Open final where Djokovic beat Alcaraz, he did actually have a championship point before his opponent made a thrilling fightback.

Year Carlos Alcaraz’s Result at the Cincinnati Open 2021 Lost in the first round to Lorenzo Sonego, 6-3 7-6(6) 2022 Lost in the quarterfinals to Cameron Norrie, 7-6(4) 6(4)-7 6-4 2023 Lost in the final to Novak Djokovic, 5-7 7-6(7) 7-6(4) 2024 Lost in the second round to Gael Monfils, 4-6 7-6(4) 6-4

Alcaraz will be looking to continue his bid to improve his record at the Cincinnati Open, when he plays another Serbian in Hamad Medjedovic.

This will be a first-time meeting between Alcaraz and Medjedovic, who was once funded by Djokovic, that will take place on Tuesday, August 12.

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