A Smile After a Tough Loss
Carlos Alcaraz walked out of Arthur Ashe Stadium at 3:34 in the morning following a gruelling five-set loss to Ben Shelton at the US Open, and he was grinning. For most players, that scene would be unthinkable. For Alcaraz, it made perfect sense. The Spaniard had been sidelined for more than five months with a wrist injury that caused him daily pain, forcing him to skip both the French Open title defence and Wimbledon. He did not even know if he would compete in New York until a week before the tournament started. Reaching the quarter-finals, as he told BBC Sport before the Laver Cup in London, felt like "a gift." He suffered, he enjoyed, and that smile said everything.
Alcaraz also used his BBC Sport interview to address the late-night scheduling at Flushing Meadows, noting that the eventual champion Alexander Zverev finished past 1am in three of his first five matches. Alcaraz called the late finishes "too much" and suggested a maximum finish time around 11pm would serve players and fans better.
Missing Sinner, Looking Forward
Now focused on representing Team Europe at the Laver Cup at The O2 in London (September 25 to 27), Alcaraz admitted he genuinely misses Jannik Sinner, who sat out the US Open with a knee injury. The two have shared 12 major titles between them across 2024 and 2025, building one of the most compelling rivalries in the sport. Alcaraz said he has texted Sinner several times this year, particularly when the Italian was winning early in the season. What stands out is the warmth: Alcaraz openly said his rival pushes him to improve, something that contrasts sharply with the cooler relationships that defined the Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic era. Team Europe, captained by Yannick Noah, faces a United States side led by Andre Agassi. TennisDraw users will be watching closely to see how Alcaraz performs as the headline act for Europe this weekend.
