Carlos Alcaraz admits the big mistake he made in his opening match with Damir Dzumhur, 'I have to be better'

Carlos Alcaraz made his return to tennis at the Cincinnati Open and kicked off his hard-court swing with a victory against Damir Dzumhur.

It wasn’t the most comfortable of opening rounds for the Spaniard, who was forced to a decisive third set by Dzumhur, after losing the second 6-2.

The bout marked his first appearance on the ATP Tour since the Wimbledon final, which Alcaraz lost to Jannik Sinner.

He has already surpassed his finish in Cincinnati from last year, which ended abruptly in the early stages against Gael Monfils.

Following his triumph over Dzumhur, Alcaraz said he’ll need to improve going forward in his campaign.

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Carlos Alcaraz reflects on his first match back since Wimbledon

Speaking to Tennis Channel after the match, the five-time major champion admitted: “I would say that I have to be better for sure. I just started the match really well, feeling the ball pretty good, to be honest.

“I mean, I feel like if you just switch off your mind for just one, two or three points, everything becomes even tougher to come back.

“So I had to come back in the third set, but in general, I just wanted to feel much better.”

Alcaraz has been prone to a lack of concentration in matches during his career, and this year is no exception, having lost some big matches after going a set to the good.

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He said of the issue: “Well, in the practice, I just have been focused on just thinking positive all the time, if the things are not going in the right way, I am just thinking that I have to continue doing those things, because at the end I am going to do better.

“The things are going to go in the right way, so I was trying to do that. If I am making a lot of mistakes, I know my goals for this tournament, approaching every match, and I have to follow them even if at the beginning it was not in the right region. I know that in the end, those things are going to work.”

Carlos Alcaraz’s chance to close in on the top of the rankings

After already defending the ten points he gained in Cincinnati last year, Alcaraz now has a great chance to close in on world number one Sinner.

The Italian is the defending champion at the event, and has to win the tournament for a second year in a row to protect all 1000 points.

At the US Open, Alcaraz will have an even greater opportunity to make up ground on the top spot, as after a second-round exit at Flushing Meadows in 2024, he has just 50 points to defend there.

Sinner, by contrast, has 2000, following his maiden title in New York last September.

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