Alcaraz: Dimitrov 'made me feel like I'm 13 years old'

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Carlos Alcaraz was not a young man in search of excuses Thursday night after his 6-2, 6-4 loss to Grigor Dimitrov at the Miami Open presented by Itau, his second consecutive defeat against the Bulgarian.

The World No. 2 was quick to acknowledge that he ran into Dimitrov on the wrong night as the 32-year-old snapped his nine-match winning streak after producing one of his best matches in recent years.

“He played amazing tennis, almost perfect, if I can say ‘perfect’, said Alcaraz, who won the Miami title in 2022. “I mean, I couldn't find solutions. I couldn't find a way to make him feel uncomfortable on the court. It was a great game from his side.

“I have a lot of frustrations right now, because he made me feel like I'm 13 years old (smiling). You know, it was crazy. I was talking to my team saying that I don't know what I have to do. I don't know his weakness. I don't know anything.”

Alcaraz said that he played better than he did in Shanghai last year when Dimitrov rallied from a set down to win 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 to claim his first win in four Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings with the Spaniard.

“I think I played good tennis. I mean, I left the court thinking that probably I had to change my game a little bit earlier, but anyway, I feel like I played a good tennis,” Alcaraz said. “Not perfect but a good one…

“Honestly, in Shanghai, I didn't play too well, I think I played better today than the second and third set in Shanghai.”

Alcaraz, who will drop to No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings on Monday if Jannik Sinner hoists the trophy Sunday in Miami, finishes the first quarter of the season with a 15-4 match record. Importantly, he snapped a title drought stretching back to Wimbledon last July when he won the BNP Paribas Open earlier this month.

He will now turn his focus to the clay swing, during which he is expected to battle Sinner, Novak Djokovic and possibly Daniil Medvedev for World No. 1 honours. Alcaraz is next scheduled to play at the year's third ATP Masters 1000, the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, starting 8 April.

“I have to wait a few days to see everything, but there is no time to get down right now,” Alcaraz said. “The season, there are a lot of tournaments. The season has just begun.

"I have to practise. I'm 100 per cent fine the power, let's say, to continue practising well, enjoying practising and really looking forward to playing the next tournament.”

Carlos Alcaraz has joined the party❗️❗️@MiamiOpen | #MiamiOpen |@carlosalcaraz pic.twitter.com/JJkJCzeqfA

— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 29, 2024