At the recently concluded Canadian Open, Carlos Alcaraz made a second-round exit following a 6-7(4), 7-6(7), 6-3 defeat to Tommy Paul. Later, at his post-match press conference, the World No. 4, who was seeded second in Montreal, admitted to crumbling under pressure.
Speaking in an interview with the official ATP website, Nadal said that Alcaraz has all the right people next to him and that one can enjoy playing without any burden in their initial years.
The 36-year-old stated that players’ approach and mentality will change as their rankings grow and they enter tournaments with expectations of winning trophies.
Elaborating on how he dealt with pressure in his early days, the Mallorcan said that players must come to accept that only one can emerge victorious at the end of any tournament and that it’s normal to lose a lot of matches in one’s career.
Rafael Nadal returns to action at 2022 Cincinnati Open
Rafael Nadal will return to action this week for the first time in over a month after suffering an abdominal tear that forced him to withdraw from Wimbledon in July.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion will take part in the Cincinnati Masters, where he is seeded second. He received a bye in the opening round and will face either Borna Coric or Lorenzo Musetti in the second round.
Speaking at his pre-tournament press conference at the Masters 1000 event, Nadal said that while he wants to compete and play, he will listen to his body every step of the way to avoid another injury scare.
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