World No. 24 Karen Khachanov spoke highly of his match against Carlos Alcaraz at the Rome Masters. He lost to the Spaniard in the fourth round with a score of 3/6, 6/3, 5/7.
Asked about their 10-15 second chat after the match, Khachanov recalled:
“He said the level of play was very high and it was a really tough match for him. And he added that I was slightly unlucky. I also believe it was an equal, high-level match and I gave him a good fight.”
Before this match, you had never won a set against Alcaraz in your career, and in this match, you not only broke the tradition but almost defeated the Spaniard. How and when did the `beast mode` switch on?
“When I was leading in the first set, I thought, `Oh, it`s finally time to take a set from him.` Maybe that`s what hindered me. But in the second set, conversely, after being down a break, I managed to come back and turn the tide of the match. Once I took the second set, I thought to myself about Alcaraz, `Now we are playing on equal terms, and let`s see who will push harder.` I tried to show a high level, not think about winning or losing, but just stay mentally in the game the whole match. And I managed to do that, despite the outcome.”
Is this match among the top ones of your career? If yes, where does it rank?
“The top five would be: the match against Nadal at the 2018 US Open and the final in Bercy against Djokovic, also in 2018. Matches against Del Potro at Roland Garros 2019, Kyrgios at the 2022 US Open, as well as several others. But the encounter with Alcaraz definitely belongs in this list.”
Regarding the loss to Alcaraz, Karen Khachanov stated, “I have an understanding of what to improve and how to win matches like these.”
