"Carlos Alcaraz doesn't have the same confidence he had throughout the year" - Daniil Medvedev on Spaniard's ATP Finals loss to Alexander Zverev
Daniil Medvedev has explained why he wasn't surprised at Carlos Alcaraz's loss to Alexander Zverev at the 2023 ATP Finals.
In his tournament debut, Alcaraz squared off against Zverev in the opening match of the Red Group. The German, a two-time champion at the year-end championships, claimed a 7(3), 6-3, 6-4 victory over the World No. 2 in two hours and 32 minutes. Subsequently, Medvedev defeated Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-2 to claim the top spot in the group standings.
Speaking during his post-match press conference, Medvedev asserted that while he would have found Carlos Alcaraz's defeat surprising a few months ago, he no longer did due to a perceived dip in the Spaniard's confidence. The Russian also stated that Novak Djokovic experienced similar setbacks during his early years on tour.
"If you would ask me two, three months ago, for sure. Tennis is very, very tricky sport. At this moment, for whatever reason, we feel that Carlos plays just a little bit slower. He doesn't have the same confidence he had throughout the whole year. This can happen to everyone. This even happen to Novak when he was younger. The question is, how fast is he going to recover. Is it going to be this tournament or next year," he said.
Furthermore, Medvedev pointed out the significant disparity in the speed of Zverev and Alcaraz's groundstrokes, asserting that it was evident the World No. 2 was not performing at his best during the match.
"When he lost the second set, they showed the speed of the strokes, groundstrokes. Sascha was like 10 kilometers higher than Carlos. This is very surprising. In general when I saw the match, in the beginning we felt that Carlos is not playing his best. Sascha also. So I'm not surprised at all," he said.
"In the end it turned out to be a great fight and a great match. No surprises. Sascha can play well also, serve well. It's going to be interesting to play him for the 18th time," he added.
Carlos Alcaraz will lock horns with Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev at ATP Finals 2023
Following his defeat to Alexander Zverev at the ATP Finals, Carlos Alcaraz will aim to improve his performance in his two remaining group stage maches against Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev.
During his press conference, Alcaraz recalled his US Open semifinal loss to Medvedev and stated that he expected a "tough" challenge in their upcoming match.
"Both players are great. They playing such a high level. Medvedev has his style. He doesn't miss any ball. He's really, really tough. He's a wall. I think the last tournaments that he has played, he was more aggressive. For example, in the semifinal of the US Open he was more aggressive than I thought. I think that's why he's really, really tough," Carlos Alcaraz said.
Additionally, Carlos Alcaraz commended Rublev's forehand and emphasized the need for intense focus in order to emerge victorious against the skilled Russian duo.
"And Rublev, his power of every shot, it is amazing. His forehand is one of the biggest forehand on the tour, for sure. He hit the ball 100% every shot during three, four hours. It is amazing. I will have to be really, really focused on every match if I want to give myself a chance," he added.