Forgoing Olympic Ink, Alcaraz Eyes Return to No. 1, Another Deep Run in Cincy

By Richard Osborn

At this rate, Carlos Alcaraz will fast run out of body parts to tattoo.

After capturing his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open on September 11, 2022, a win that catapulted him to No. 1 in the ATP rankings, the Spaniard had the numerals 11.02.2022 inked just above his right elbow. The date of his 2023 Wimbledon triumph sits above a strawberry on his right ankle. He added an Eiffel Tower to his left ankle this summer after taking the La Coupe des Mousquetaires at Roland Garros.

But despite earning a silver medal earlier this month at the Paris Games, the 21-year-old insists there’ll be no tattoo this time around. Why?

“Because I didn’t get the gold one,” he told reporters during a pre-tournament sit-down on Sunday at the Cincinnati Open, a wide smile across his face.

There was an outpouring of emotion from the four-time major singles titlist on Court Philippe Chatrier after he fell to Novak Djokovic in the gold-medal match, 7-6(3), 7-6(2). For someone who had just pulled off the rare Roland Garros-Wimbledon double, who had become the youngest man ever to win major trophies on all three surfaces, he was especially self-critical, lamenting that he had “let all the Spanish people down.”

“I always want to be better. I always think I can do it better,” Alcaraz reflected. “I had a great summer, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, silver at the Olympics. But I wanted the gold medal. After matches, if I win or I lose, I like to find the bad things that I did and try to be better, try not to make the same mistakes in the next matches. That’s what I saw in the final in Paris, that I couldn’t deal with the situations as good as I wanted. That’s what I was thinking after the match, being hard on myself.”

Nobody knows what’s going to happen in the future,” he added, “if I’m going to reach the final again.”

There are no guarantees in life, Alcaraz insisted, pointing to countryman Rafael Nadal, the other half of Spain’s ‘Nadalcaraz’ Olympic pairing, as an example. Nadal took the gold medal in Beijing in 2008. Although he would add a gold medal in doubles in Rio in 2016, he never returned to a singles final on the Olympic stage.

“Hopefully, I’ll play another one,” said Alcaraz.

For now, the world No. 3 will turn his attention to the hard courts of the Lindner Family Tennis Center and a return to the final. Last year, Alcaraz was edged by a familiar opponent, Djokovic, 5-7, 7-6(7), 7-6(4), in an epic title match his Serbian foe said was the toughest three-setter of his career.

“I’m really excited to be playing here again,” said Alcaraz. “I’m happy to be back. I have great memories from last year, reaching the final, losing a really tight match. This is a really important tournament for me. Right now, ending the year at No. 1 is one of my main goals.”

Seeded second in Cincinnati, Alcaraz awaits the winner of the first-round matchup between French veteran Gael Monfils and Aussie Alexei Popyrin.