Alcaraz and a confessable truth: "Without Jannik, the pressure killed me"

Fernando Murciego | 7 Apr 2025 | 14.10

Carlos Alcaraz confesses how the absence of Sinner affected him. Source: Getty

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Interesting words from Carlos Alcaraz at the Media Day of the Masters 1000 of Montecarlo 2025, a press conference that we have been gradually uncovering in the past hours. If yesterday we touched on the topic of how the Spaniard feels when hearing criticism after each defeat, today it's time to delve into another equally interesting subject. How has he dealt with the absence of Jannik Sinner in recent months? He always mentioned that it was news that didn't affect him at all, that he was focused on his own path, but the reality is that these things always end up affecting in some way. The Spanish tennis player didn't hesitate to acknowledge how the pressure of having to win ended up causing problems.

"Many talked about this issue, people thought that just because Sinner was out, both Sascha and I should have won everything or played better than before. This is not correct, starting because now there is much more balance within the locker room, there are many more players who can go deep into tournaments," valued the Spanish player, who has since reached the quarterfinals in Doha, won the title in Rotterdam, reached the semifinals in Indian Wells, and the second round in Miami. Surely some fans were expecting much more and made it clear to Alcaraz, although he knew it wouldn't be so easy.

"I'm not surprised to not have returned to being world No. 1, although many people keep expecting me to win everything. Many ask me, they were asking me to take full advantage of this period of Jannik's absence to get back to the top. Probably, that pressure somehow killed me. Even though Jannik isn't playing, the reality is that I am too far from him... and now on clay, I won't have the chance to climb back up. I will simply focus on giving my best," emphasizes Carlitos, still awaiting to know who his first opponent will be this week in El Principado.

UNPRECEDENTED IN MONTECARLO

If one optimistic piece of news we can bring to the table is that Alcaraz has a very easy task to surpass his best result in Montecarlo. He just needs to win one match, as the El Palmar native has only participated in this event once, when he was defeated in the first round in 2022 against an inspired Sebastian Korda (7-6, 6-7, 6-3). Injuries have prevented him from returning there since, so the motivation to shine in Monaco is at its peak.

"Here the feeling is strange because I have never managed to achieve even a single victory, it's as if there was something in the tournament that didn't play in my favor, although the truth is the numbers show that I have only participated once, when I lost. I am happy to be here, this time injury-free, to try to play as well as possible, hoping for a great result. The sensations in training have been positive, so we'll see," concludes in statements collected by Supertennis.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Alcaraz y una verdad confesable: “Sin Jannik, la presión me mató”

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