Carlos Alcaraz: "Many people want to create controversy, I don't blame Novak Djokovic for anything"
Carlos Alcaraz has defended Novak Djokovic after he was accused of taking a bathroom break and excessively celebrating during their French Open clash.
Djokovic bested Alcaraz 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 in the 2023 Roland Garros semifinal to reach the 34th Grand Slam final of his career. The evenly-contested match changed its course at the beginning of the third set when the Spaniard started heavily cramping.
From that point on, the match lost its competitiveness. Djokovic, however, continued to celebrate winning points with fist pumps and vocal screams. When asked about this in a post-match press conference, Alcaraz stated that there was nothing wrong with Djokovic's actions.
"I don't blame him for anything. He had to close the match. It's challenging to play against someone who isn't at 100%. While they may experience a downturn, you can't afford to have that downturn and instead must find a way to close the match," he said.
The 20-year-old admitted that he would have probably done the same if he was in Djokovic's situation.
"Clenching your fists helps maintain intensity and allows you to close the match as quickly as possible. I don't blame Djokovic for doing that. The truth is, if I were facing someone who was injured or not playing at their best, and I experienced a slump, I would likely do the same. Closing a match is never easy," the 2022 US Open champion added.
When a journalist asked if Djokovic's long bathroom break after losing the second set influenced the momentum of the match, Alcaraz brushed away any suggestions of controversy.
"Many people may want to create controversy and claim that Novak went to the bathroom to stop the game or break the rhythm, but no, not in my case. I don't believe it influenced anything," the World No. 1 explained.
Mats Wilander: Novak Djokovic exposed a weakness in Carlos Alcaraz
Former World No. 1 Mats Wilander analyzed the French Open semifinal between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, saying that the Serb "exposed a weakness" in the Spaniard.
Wilander, a three-time Roland Garros champion, believes that Djokovic was the sole reason for Alcaraz suffering from cramps in the match.
"The cramping caused by Novak, only by Novak. The difference between how Novak moves around, even when he's exhausted, and compared to Carlitos is a huge difference. I've never seen this from Carlos and Novak exposed a weakness in him," he opined. (via Eurosport)
Wilander explained that Alcaraz exhausted much more energy than Djokovic did before he suffered from cramps.
"Carlos Alcaraz ran an average of 20 meters up to his cramping. They played 155 points, that’s 3000 meters, that’s 30 x 100m sprints in two hours. He’s not walking, he’s sprinting for everything. Novak is smoother and Carlos might not read the game as well and has taken way more steps," he declared.