Carlos Alcaraz explains reasons for unexpected Davis Cup trip

Unexpected defeat for new world No. 1

Among the highlights of the Davis Cup match between Spain and Canada in Valencia was the return to the court of Carlos Alcaraz, in his first outing as world No. 1 since his triumph at the US Open. The class of 2003, however, disappointed the expectations of the home crowd, succumbing to Felix Auger-Aliassime despite a one-set lead: the final score was in fact 6(3)-7, 6-4, 6-2 in favor of the Canadian.

“Aliassime played very well, I made a couple of mistakes at 4-4 in the second set – are the words of Alcaraz collected by ‘Marca’ -. Against a beast like Felix it is difficult. I didn’t arrive in the best physical or mental condition but I always played on the limit: I only had two days to adapt to the field, which is quite slow, completely different from the one in New York. I gave everything though, I love playing for my country.”

“It was still nice to come back to Spain, to play in front of my compatriots,” the talented young Spaniard admitted again. “I also wanted to come back here to share with them the US Open title and the first position in the ranking.