While he would prefer to spend much less time on the court to keep his body fresh for the upcoming US Open, Carlos Alcaraz has stated that lengthy matches at the Cincinnati Open will not have any negative impact on him.
The world no.1 had to go the distance — playing a three-setter — once again in the quarter-final of the Cincinnati Masters against Max Purcell as he defeated the Australian after losing the first set.
The Spaniard has now spent a total of eight hours on the court at the ATP Masters 1000 event.
He will play Hubert Hurkacz — an opponent he beat in Toronto last week — in the semi-final to look for a place in the Cincinnati final.
Many have thought that playing these lengthy matches may have a negative impact on the Spaniard's body as the US Open is just around the corner but the 20-year-old does not agree with such claims.
However, he believes that he will have enough time to recover once the event ends.
“Well, after this tournament you have a week, so for me it doesn’t matter too much if I go to three sets or not. I don’t feel like it helps me to go to New York where I will have to potentially play five-setters,” Alcaraz said.
“I always said that the less you are on the court, the better for you to recover, to stay healthier.
“But you never know if you’re going to play two sets or three sets. You have to win, it doesn’t matter if it’s in two or three. Right now it is being three, but I have to be more focused to do it in two.”
Talking about his upcoming encounter with Hurkacz, the 20-year-old knows that he needs to up his game.
“I feel like I’m playing well. Obviously not my best. I can increase my level, of course,” he said.
“But I feel the opponents, when they are playing against me, I’m going to say, well, they play a little bit better. Obviously, I will say that you can be better every day.”
