- Many people hoped that Alcaraz would have a second show at the Grand Slam finals
- He lost to Daniil Medvedev in four sets in New York
- Cahill said that Alcaraz did not play his best because he had given so much energy to Wimbledon
Darren Cahill, one of the famous tennis coaches is among thousands of fans who have a soft spot for Spanish tennis star Carlos Alcaraz.
Speaking recently on Advantage Connors podcast, he said that he loves Alcaraz’s humility and honesty despite some quarters feeling he is still maturing.
Cahill who is currently coaching Jannik Sinner, another favourite male tennis player said that his show at the 2023 US Open was enough testimony.
Many people hoped that Alcaraz would have a second show at the Grand Slam finals with Novak Djokovic after thrashing him [Djokovic] in Wimbledon.
However, he lost to Daniil Medvedev in four sets in New York and he did not make excuses for this.
He only told his fans figuratively that he hadn’t matured enough to bag victory in many of such matches and left it at that.
Carlos Alcaraz celebrates advancing to the 2023 US Open Semi-finals. Photo/USOPEN.org
Cahill says this was a modest show of honesty and humility from a 20-year-old player who some would expect different reactions after losing in such a high-stakes tournament.
“He is an amazing young man, certainly very humble, very honest,” stated the tennis coach.
Cahill further implored that these are the qualities that make him a great friend of Sinner off-court.
“He and Jannik are very alike in many many ways, that’s why they are good friends off the court as well because they do get along, they do think the same and they do want it as badly as everybody,” he added.
Reflecting on his US Open loss, Cahill said that Alcaraz did not play his best because he had given so much energy to the past tournaments.
He lauded his Wimbledon victory saying it caught many people by surprise since he is a ‘clay-court’ player than a grass-court player.
However, he managed to beat Djokovic in the grass courts of London, even with so many doubts in the beginning.
Following his triumphant five-set victory over Djokovic in the Wimbledon final, expectations soared that Alcaraz would assert his dominance during the hard-court tournaments in the United States.
His journey through the US summer began impressively, reaching the quarter-finals of the Canadian Open.
Tennis coach Darren Cahill. Photo/The West Australian
However, he faced a gruelling three-set battle against Djokovic in the Cincinnati Open final, narrowly missing the victory, and subsequently, he encountered a formidable challenge in Medvedev during his New York campaign.
Cahill remarks that the 20-year-old Spaniard may have experienced fatigue stemming from his exhaustive Wimbledon performance which denied him another run at the US Open finals.
Nevertheless, he commends Alcaraz for his remarkable composure and resilience in handling the immense pressure on the big stage.
“I think that [Wimbledon] had a bit of a lag effect – physically and mentally – on him through the whole US summer,” he said.
“He was struggling a little physically in that semi-final against Medvedev. He didn’t show it, he still played every point like it was the last and he was there until the end and he made no excuses after that match. I love that about Carlos,” Cahill maintained.
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