'He deserved it' - Carlos Alcaraz talks about losing to Novak Djokovic at 2024 Paris Olympics

Carlos Alcaraz revealed that facing Novak Djokovic was a big moment for him.

Spanish tennis star Carlos Alcaraz recently talked about facing Novak Djokovic in the final of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Carlos Alcaraz has been enjoying a breakthrough campaign this year. In the first few months, he was suffering from a forearm injury. However, he won the Indian Wells Masters by defeating Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev in the semifinal and final, respectively.

Before the 2024 French Open, he missed the Rome Masters and suffered a quarterfinal exit in Madrid. However, he exhibited his on-court prowess at Stade Roland Garros and won the prestigious French Open title. With the title, he became the youngest male tennis player to complete the Surface Slam.

He broke his idol, Rafael Nadal’s record, who completed the surface slam in 2009 by winning the Australian Open. Later, he defeated eight-time champion Novak Djokovic in two hours and 28 minutes to become the third youngest tennis player to defend his Wimbledon title.

ALSO READ: Carlos Alcaraz’s projected path to US Open 2024 final

He entered the 2024 Paris Olympics as the hot favorite to win the gold medal. However, he lost to Novak Djokovic in the gold medal match. Talking about the match, Carlos Alcaraz revealed that it was a big moment for him. The Spaniard also stated that losing to Djokovic was a difficult pill for him to swallow; however, the Serb deserved the victory.

Carlos Alcaraz said, “It was a difficult moment to deal with for me, But you know, I had a great player in front of me, he was fighting for the same thing as me & he deserved it.”

The 21-year-old has won two Grand Slam titles this season, and he’s aiming to win the third. After the Paris Olympics, Alcaraz lost to Gael Monfils in the second round of the 2024 Cincinnati Open. The Spaniard also lost his cool during the match as he was seen smashing his racquet off the ground four times.

However, he later issued a public apology for his behavior via social media. Alcaraz will start his 2024 US Open campaign against qualifier Li Tu of Australia on Tuesday, August 27. The 21-year-old has been drawn in the third section of the men’s singles main draw. In the second round, he will face the winner of the match between Denis Shapovalov and Botic van de Zandschulp.

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