Alcaraz and the demanding nature of his rivals: "I'm tired of feeling like I'm playing against Federer in every round"

Andrés Tomás Rico | 10 Mar 2026 | 07.34

Alcaraz and the demand from his rivals: "I'm tired of feeling like I'm playing against Federer in every round." Photo: Gettyimages

Streaming French Open Women live tennis

🎾 Viktorija Golubic vs Alycia Parks

Sign up with Bet365 here
Make your first deposit of at least €5
Go to the “Live” section and watch every match

Watch the match on Bet365

Carlos Alcaraz begins to suffer one of the main consequences of being the best tennis player in the world: everyone wants to beat him. And to achieve that, they must play their best possible tennis, so they step onto the court much more motivated than against any other player. This was seen in his journey in Doha and has been seen again in Indian Wells against a player who has struggled in both tournaments: Arthur Rinderknech.

This time he had to turn the match around after losing the first set in a chaotic tiebreak and being a break down in the second, but he again brought out his 'comeback' version and took the victory with a score of 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-2, not without giving a scare with his right ankle, which he assured was fine. After facing the challenge posed by Rinderknech again, in the press conference following his victory, Alcaraz expressed being "annoyed" with the high level his opponents always display when playing against him.

Carlos Alcaraz gets tired of facing the best versions of his opponents

"To be honest, sometimes I get tired of feeling like I'm playing against Roger Federer in every round. Sometimes it seems like everyone is playing at an incredibly high level. I don't know if it's just my feeling, but I feel like it always happens to me. If they played at that level in every match, they should be much higher in the rankings. But well, it's something that concerns me and that I think about while I'm playing."

He knows the solution to the problem

"The only thing I can do is accept it, move on, and try to do things differently during the match. Try not to let the opponent be aggressive or play their style, try to impose my style, my tennis, my level in the match, and try to change the situation. But the first thing is to accept it. I feel like I have a target on my back, and I think they feel that if they don't play at that level, they can't beat me, or at least that's what I imagine they might think."

He manages to overcome a tough first set

"At first, I was a little angry with myself because I had many opportunities in the first set: several break points, even a set point, and I couldn't take advantage of them. I felt like I had missed out on big opportunities, and sometimes it's hard to accept. But at the start of the second set, he played at a very high level in the game where he broke my serve. So I accepted it, tried to stay mentally strong and as calm as possible, and kept on fighting."

"I knew I would have more chances and that if I wasn't there, I couldn't take advantage of them. The main thing was to stay in the match at all times, try to win my service games and put pressure on his, and see what happened, trying to do it in the best possible way."

Delighted with the facilities at Indian Wells

"I think everything here is very peaceful. We feel that everything is very well organized. We have our warm-up areas, we don't feel cramped or with little space. There are many places to relax and hang out. It's great. Also, I think many players love to play golf, and here is practically paradise for that. I think that also helps make the tournament atmosphere very good," concludes a Carlos Alcaraz who is starting to grow tired of all his opponents playing their best tennis against him. A consequence of being the world number one.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Alcaraz y la exigencia de sus rivales: "Estoy cansado de sentir que juego contra Federer en cada ronda"