Change of mindset pays dividends as Alcaraz closes in on maiden Italian Open title
The Spaniard is two wins away from a first Italian Open crown, which would complete his set of major clay-court titles
Carlos Alcaraz, Italian Open, 2025 © Tristan Lapierre / Tennis Majors
Since his stunning arrival at the top of the sport across the spring of 2022, Carlos Alcaraz is yet to have an under-par clay-court season.
Even twelve months ago, when his European clay campaign looked to have been derailed by a right arm injury which ruled him out of both Monte-Carlo and Rome, the young Spaniard responded by claiming the biggest prize of them all at Roland-Garros.
This year, Alcaraz has already earned another crucial feather in his cap by winning a maiden title at Monte-Carlo at the start of the clay-court stretch. A third career final in Barcelona followed, before an adductor injury hampered his chances against Holger Rune in that showpiece and forced him to pull out of the Madrid Open.
But there is now only one major clay-court trophy that Alcaraz has yet to get his hands on.
He’d never previously been past the last 32 in Rome, but another highly fruitful clay swing sees the world No 3 tantalisingly close to completing the set after he came through a tough contest against Jack Draper to reach the semi-finals of the Italian Open.
change of mindset helps alcaraz to victory
In a packed press mixed zone following victory, Alcaraz revealed that for this match he required a different approach mentally in order to deal with an ever-improving player who beat him last time they played.
“Today I approached the match in a different way, which I’m really proud about,” he said.
“I tried not to think that it was a really important match. I was just trying to go there and play, trying to enjoy playing that match, not thinking about the results at all.
“I just tried to do the shots in the game that I like playing, that I like to do. Try to smile, have joy on the court. That for me was the most important thing that I was trying to think during the whole match.”
It is testament to how Alcaraz appears to be peaking yet again at the right stage of the tournament that he believes today was his best match so far in the Italian capital.
“Probably,” was his response when posed this question.
“I think I started pretty well. I end the match pretty well, as well. I lost the focus a little bit in the second set. It wasn’t too long. It was pretty good.
“But yeah, probably was one of the most complete matches that I played this year.”
alcaraz pays tribute to draper as a season-defining few weeks beckons
Against a player of Draper’s calibre, someone who had just reached the final in Madrid, Alcaraz had to dig deep into his reserves of resilience in order to fend off sustained return pressure from his opponent throughout the second set. He was candid in pointing out just what a threat he believes Draper now to be.
“Jack I think, he has shown the level he has. He can win everyone in every tournament. Of course, Jack is No. 5 in the world.
“He has won one Masters 1000 final, made the final in one of them, as well. He’s one of the players who can win the French Open. Any Grand Slam, honestly.”
While Draper’s clay-court season has been equally impressive in its own right, Alcaraz now faces a potentially season-defining few weeks in Central Europe.
Just two victories away from claiming his first Italian Open title and completing the set of the biggest clay-court tournaments, he is also just 11 days away from kicking off only the third Grand Slam title defence of his career when Roland-Garros gets underway on May 25.
As it always has been thus far in his young career, the Spaniard’s 2025 clay-court campaign has already been a highly successful one.
The next few days and weeks will determine whether Alcaraz can propel it yet further into one of the great glorious clay swings of recent times.
