"I have a lot of frustrations, Grigor Dimitrov made me feel like I'm 13 years old"

Carlos Alcaraz suggested that Grigor Dimitrov made him feel like a teenager on court during their quarterfinal clash at the Miami Open on Thursday, March 28.

Alcaraz began against Dimitrov on a shaky note as he failed to hold his first serve in the match. He also double-faulted twice in the opening set to fall behind in the race to the semifinals.

He remained under pressure from Dimitrov in the second set as well as the latter broke him in the fourth game. He staged a brief comeback by breaking the Bulgarian back in the seventh game.

It, however, proved too little too late as Dimitrov ran away with the set and match with another break in the tenth game and booked his place in the final four at Miami Gardens with a 6-4, 6-2 win.

After the match, Alcaraz told the press that he felt like an amateur against Dimitrov.

"I feel, I have a lot of frustrations right now, because he made me feel like I'm 13 years old. You know, it was crazy. I was talking to my team saying that I don't know what I have to do. I don't know, you know, his weakness. I don't know anything," the 20-year-old said.

The two-time Grand Slam further claimed that while he felt he needed to change his game earlier during the match, he was content with his performance.

"That's why I have frustration right now, but, you know, in the thought of tennis, I left the court happy with my level. I think I played good tennis. I mean, I left the court thinking that probably I had to change my game a little bit earlier, but anyway, I feel like I played a good tennis. Not perfect but a good one," Carlos Alcaraz added.

Carlos Alcaraz has a 3-2 head-to-head lead over Grigor Dimitrov

Grigor Dimitrov (L) and Carlos Alcaraz shake hands at the net after their Miami Open quarterfinal match

Carlos Alcaraz's lead over Grigor Dimitrov in terms of the head-to-head shrank to 3-2 with his loss in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open 2024.

Alcaraz remained invincible in his first three on-court meetings with Dimitrov. He first defeated the 32-year-old 6-1, 6-3 at the Paris Masters in 2022. Then, he succeeded twice at the Madrid Open and Queen's Club Championships in 2023.

Grigor Dimitrov, however, opened his account before the 2023 season ended as he overcame Carlos Alcaraz 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 in a Round-of-16 battle at the Shanghai Masters. Dimitrov's campaign in Shanghai notably ended with a loss to Andrey Rublev in the semifinals.