New York [US], September 9 : After losing the semi-final against Russia's Daniil Medvedev, defending champion and World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz said that he could not find solutions of Medvedev's outstanding game.
Medvedev ousted Alcaraz to set up a US Open final clash with Novak Djokovic on Friday night.
“He played a really, really great game. I couldn't find solutions, I thought that right now I am a better player [who can] find solutions when the match is not going in the right direction for you. But after this match, I’m going to change my mind. I'm not mature enough to handle these kind of matches. So I have to learn from that," Alcaraz said as cited by ATP's official website.
“He played with more speed in his shots. I think the running forehand was great today. Probably with the slice in the previous matches helped me a lot to find my own game, but today I couldn't," Alcaraz said.
Medvedev set up the US Open 2021 final rematch against Djokovic. Now on Sunday, he will try to keep Djokovic away from a record 24th Grand Slam title.
“He found great directions with his shots, no mistakes, great serve today. 10 out of 10, as he said… He’s one of the best returners on the Tour. That obviously is amazing how he can return from the back of the court really deep and really powerful. When I do serve and volley, he always finds the passing shot from from his house (laughter)," he added.
On Monday, Alcaraz will hand over his No. 1 ranking in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings to Novak Djokovic, who will begin his 390th week at the top. However, if the 36-year-old loses against Medvedev in Sunday's final match, the Spaniard will maintain a razor-thin lead over the Serbian in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race to Turin.
The Race determines which eight players qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, but it also serves as an indicator of which player will finish the year World No. 1.
Alcaraz concludes his Grand Slam season with his first Wimbledon win and semi-final appearances at Roland Garros and the US Open. He was unable to compete in the Australian Open due to injury.
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