A year ago I wrote that in a tennis world that had long been looking for who will be the replacements for the Fabulous 3 (Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal), Carlos Alcaraz’s victories were there to prove that perhaps he would be the next No. 1 in the world rankings, who about the relevance of the mental component in his game had said:
” my physical form has been important, but definitely the most important part is the mental game. I feel that I have grown a lot in that part. That is why I am number 9 in the world right now and that is why I am playing at a good level. That’s why I’ve been able to win big matches, so I think [my mindset] is the most important thing.”
Yesterday, Alcaraz in the final at Wimbledon against Djokovic definitely demonstrated the level of mental maturity he has reached. His victory is beautiful not only because he defeated the champion who had not lost at Wimbledon in 10 years or because he is the third youngest tennis player to have won this tournament.
He proved that one can go through the hell of a first set, lost 6-1, in which he offered no resistance to Djokovic. It was a situation that could have annihilated him competitively, and he may have been reminded of the stress-induced cramps he experienced in the semifinal at Roland Garros that he lost decisively to the very same opponent (6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1). This time, however, the story was different; Alcazar psychologically recovered and began to play his game. He mentally crushed Djokovic, who became very nervous, argued with the audience and the umpire, and smashed his racket.
In a sport, where the goal is to dominate the opponent Alcaraz succeeded in this feat. The work with psychologaa Isabel Balaguer, intensified during this period along with that with his team, allowed him to get out of that abyss in the first set. That’s what tennis is all about: you can lose and not understand anything but if you are willing to reason and react to these moments, then the work that has been done can come out, and Alcazar showed that mental work pays off when you are not willing to suffer the negative moments and want to pursue your goal at all costs.
Alcazar showed everyone how one can go from being mentally loser to being a dominant presence in the most important game of his life.
