"Honestly, I’m scared of failure; that’s probably one of my fears, letting a lot of people down" - Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz's journey to his maiden US Open crown and the World No. 1 ranking in the last fortnight was sensational, to say the least. The 19-year-old battled through three grueling five-setters against Marin Cilic, Jannik Sinner and Frances Tiafoe to make his first-ever Grand Slam final.

Against Sinner in the quarterfinals, the Spaniard even saved a match point in the fourth set.

The final against Casper Ruud on Sunday wasn't easy either. The teenager had to dig deep to erase a couple of set points in the third set before going on to complete the victory in four.

The grinding matches and his incredible comebacks gave the impression that the Murcia native is fearless and isn't bogged down even when he is staring at defeat.

However, while reflecting on the biggest achievement of his career in a recent interview with ATP, Carlos Alcaraz admitted that he is scared of letting his well-wishers down.

"Honestly, I’m scared of failure," Alcaraz said. "That’s probably one of my fears. Letting a lot of people down."

Elaborating on his fears, the youngster went on to describe how living up to the expectations of people who are close to him has always been the biggest challenge for him.

"Not being up to their expectations," Alcaraz said. "Although I’ve won a Grand Slam or now I’m No. 1 in the world, probably there will be tournaments in which there are expectations and I can’t meet them. Above all, letting down the people around me.

"In terms of everyone else, there are a lot of people who think and have opinions, but I’m talking about those that are close to me," he added. "That’s the thing I’m most scared of."

"Having a mental coach is important as tennis is demanding week after week" - Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz celebrates his 2022 US Open title win with his team.

During the chat, Carlos Alcaraz also underlined the importance of having a mental coach to cope with the rigors of the tour. He credited his psychologist, Isabel Balaguer, for the rapid improvement he has made over the past couple of seasons.

"I’ve been working with a psychologist for two or three seasons, with Isabel Balaguer," he said. "She’s a great professional, one of the main reasons I am able to be No. 1 in the world today. I’ve improved so much thanks to her.

"Having a mental coach is important as tennis is demanding week after week and during a whole year you have to be fresh mentally, you have to cope with the pressure, with everyone watching you and it’s important to be able to handle that," he added. "Without a psychologist, I wouldn’t say it’s impossible because nothing is, but it would be far more difficult."

Delving deeper into the work Balaguer has done with him, Carlos Alcaraz said that her advice has helped him immensely in handling difficult situations on the court.

"We talk, she gives me advice in certain situations: ‘You have to do this, you have to do that’," he said. "Things that help on court, she gives me a lot of tools."

However, when it comes to facing journalists, Alcaraz revealed that he does it on his own.

"No, not that aspect (on facing the media)," he said. "I am myself. She doesn’t give me tools for that. It’s more work on court, how to handle things. Also accepting that people recognise you, advice on how to cope with those situations."