pOn Friday night, a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/carlos-alcaraz/a0e2/overview'Carlos Alcaraz/a was en route to the John F. Kennedy International Airport to return to Murcia after bowing out in the second round of the a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/us-open/560/overview'US Open/a to a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/botic-van-de-zandschulp/v812/overview'Botic van de Zandschulp/a, who defeated the Spaniard in three sets in one of the biggest upsets of the season. /p
pAlcaraz, who posted a photo on social media bidding farewell to the fans at the tournament until next year, ended his participation in the 2024 Grand Slams on Thursday with a return that he surely would have taken at the start of the year. /p
pBelow, ATPTour.com reflects on the 21-year-old’s season at this year’s majors.
pstrongAUSTRALIAN OPEN: QUARTER-FINALS/strongbr
Alcaraz arrived in Melbourne to play his first tournament on the calendar at the seasonrsquo;s first Grand Slam. He beat a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/richard-gasquet/g628/overview'Richard Gasquet/a (first round), a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/lorenzo-sonego/su87/overview'Lorenzo Sonego/a (second), a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/juncheng-shang/s0re/overview'Juncheng Shang/a (third) and a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/miomir-kecmanovic/ki95/overview'Miomir Kecmanovic/a (last sixteen) before meeting a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/alexander-zverev/z355/overview'Alexander Zverev/a in the quarters. In that round, German sent Spaniard packing after four sets, ending his title hopes./p
p ldquo;I honestly donrsquo;t know what happened,rdquo; Alcaraz said later. ldquo;Irsquo;d love to say what might have happened, but I wasnrsquo;t feeling my game at the start of the match, with a lot of errors that I wasnrsquo;t making in previous matches, and my serve was very bad too...rdquo; he added. /p
p ldquo;These kinds of things shouldnrsquo;t happen to me; I can play well, I can play badly, but I canrsquo;t have zero feel in my shots, that canrsquo;t happen and itrsquo;s something we have to improve.rdquo; /p
pstrongFRENCH OPEN: CHAMPION/strongbr
Up to the quarter-finals, Alcaraz enjoyed a relatively easy run in Paris, defeating a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/jj-wolf/w09g/overview'J.J. Wolf/a in round one, a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/jesper-de-jong/d0c1/overview'Jesper de Jong/a in the second round, a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/sebastian-korda/k0ah/overview'Sebastian Korda/a in the third, a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/felix-auger-aliassime/ag37/overview'Felix Auger-Aliassime/a in the last sixteen and a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/stefanos-tsitsipas/te51/overview'Stefanos Tsitsipas/a in the quarters. However, the semi-finals (a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/jannik-sinner/s0ag/overview'Jannik Sinner/a) and the final (Zverev) were real dog fights that were decided in set five, and Alcaraz was just a set away from going home, as Sinner and Zverev both had the Murcia man on the ropes at 2-1. /p
p ldquo;Wersquo;re still so excited to be here,rdquo; admitted Alcaraz. ldquo;I see videos of when I was young, here in Paris, under the Eiffel Tower, watching a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/roland-garros/520/overview'Roland Garros/a. And years later Irsquo;m lifting the Musketeersrsquo; Trophyhellip; theyrsquo;re beautiful moments and itrsquo;s especially exciting for me.rdquo; /p
p[ATP APP]/p
pstrongWIMBLEDON: CHAMPION/strongbr
Weeks after claiming the crown at a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/roland-garros/520/overview'Roland Garros/a, Alcaraz arrived in a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/wimbledon/540/overview'Wimbledon/a as the defending champion (he had beaten a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/novak-djokovic/d643/overview'Novak Djokovic/a in 2023rsquo;s final). /p
pAfter making easy work of the early rounds, sinking a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/mark-lajal/l0gh/overview'Mark Lajal/a and a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/aleksandar-vukic/v832/overview'Aleksandar Vukic/a, the Spaniard came through a five-set tussle with a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/frances-tiafoe/td51/overview'Frances Tiafoe/a, who was just one set from victory. Against Uno Humbert, a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/tommy-paul/pl56/overview'Tommy Paul/a and a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/daniil-medvedev/mm58/overview'Daniil Medvedev/a, the world No. 3 needed four sets to progress, before facing Djokovic in the final, where he sealed his successful title defence in three sets. /p
p ldquo;Itrsquo;s a question of fighting and believing, Irsquo;m so happy to be at the same table as Djokovic,rdquo; said the Murcia native. ldquo;But I still donrsquo;t consider myself a champion of his stature.rdquo; /p
pstrongUS OPEN: SECOND ROUND/strongbr
Without a doubt one of the biggest upsets of 2024. Having got past a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/li-tu/tc01/overview'Li Tu/a in the first round, where he dropped a set, Alcaraz was caught off-guard by a stunning performance from Van de Zandschulp, who played some brilliant tennis to send the 21-year-old 2022 a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/us-open/560/overview'US Open/a champion packing. /p
p ldquo;Right now I feel like Irsquo;ve gone backwards mentally and I donrsquo;t understand why,rdquo; said Alcaraz. ldquo;I had a spectacular summer at a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/roland-garros/520/overview'Roland Garros/a and a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/wimbledon/540/overview'Wimbledon/a. I left those tournaments saying that Irsquo;d taken a step forward mentally. Irsquo;d realised that to win big things, to win Grand Slam titles, you have to be mentally strong,rdquo; added the Spaniard. ldquo;And now Irsquo;ve reached this swing and Irsquo;ve taken steps backwards, like Irsquo;m not doing well mentally, Irsquo;m not strong. I donrsquo;t know how to control myself when faced with problems and I donrsquo;t know how to handle it.rdquo; /p
pIn 2025, very soon, Alcaraz will be presented with four more chances to shine on the big stage. /p
p[NEWSLETTER FORM]/p
