Carlos Alcaraz on 'positives' in Madrid Open QF loss: "Neither my team nor I would have said that I could reach quarterfinals before the tournament"

Carlos Alcaraz recently talked about the 'positives' he took from his performance at the 2024 Madrid Open, despite falling short in the quarterfinals.

Two-time defending champion, Alcaraz, suffered a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 defeat to the seventh seed, Andrey Rublev, in the quarterfinal match that lasted just over two hours. This loss dashed the Spaniard's hopes of making history by becoming the first player to win three consecutive ATP Masters 1000 Madrid titles.

Leading up to the quarterfinals, Alcaraz had secured victories against players like Alexander Shevchenko in the second round, Thiago Seyboth Wild in the third, and Jan-Lennard Struff in the fourth round.

Speaking to the press following his loss to Andrey Rublev, Carlos Alcaraz, who had missed the previous two clay-court events this year - the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open due to a right arm injury, revealed that before the tournament, he was unsure if he could even compete without being able to hit a forehand, which his injury had been hindering.

Despite this, the World No.3 managed to play through his matches in Madrid, albeit with his arm fully strapped.

"Look, a day before starting I didn't know if I could compete and I went almost a week without hitting a forehand. My first training session hitting forehands was against [Daniil] Medvedev 24 hours after starting my participation. It is clear that, once I hit the court, I won't, I don't like losing at all, but I consider this week very positive because I have been able to play four games at a high intensity," Alcaraz said as quoted by Punto de Break (translated from Spanish).

Carlos Alcaraz expressed his disappointment at losing but stated that he had many 'positives' that he took from his performance in the quarterfinals at the Caja Magica. He revealed that neither he nor his team had expected him to reach the quarterfinals before the tournament began, but he was happy that he was able to do so.

Alcaraz stated that he is now focused on working towards restoring his forehand to its former strength.

"Neither my team nor I would have said that I could reach the quarterfinals before the tournament, so now it is time to continue working to regain normality as soon as possible on my forehand," he added.

Carlos Alcaraz on his Madrid Open QF loss: "I leave with good feelings, but I must continue improving"

Carlos Alcaraz at the 2024 Mutua Madrid Open

Carlos Alcaraz acknowledged that he still has room for improvement in his forehand before potentially competing at the 2024 Italian Open.

"I still have a way to go. In Madrid I was constantly thinking about whether I felt something strange every time I hit a forehand, so I need to work hard in the next few days if I want to go to Rome having gotten that out of my head and being able to hit normally with my drive," Alcaraz said as quoted by Punto de Break (translated from Spanish).

Despite expressing confidence in his forehand, Alcaraz revealed that he recognizes the need to dedicate himself to consistent practice to enhance and refine his forehand

"I leave with good feelings, but I must continue improving. I think I will be fine to play in Rome," he added.