Alcaraz opens up on managing his emotions at Grand Slams: “I learned to save energy”

Carlos Alcaraz suffered a disappointing loss to 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals of the 2025 Australian Open on Tuesday (January 21). The Spaniard started as a favourite against the 37-year-old Djokovic and took the opening set.

However, the Serb rose to the occasion amid thunderous support from his fans at Rod Laver Arena and crossed the finish line, winning 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 after three hours, 35 minutes of breath-taking tennis. With the win, he extended his head-to-head lead to 5-3 against the Spaniard.

Away from the on-court business, many echoed a common sentiment that Alcaraz, otherwise known for his flamboyance, opted for subdued celebrations in his moments of smaller triumphs during the battle.

Thus, Alcaraz faced a question on the same during his post-match presser at Melbourne Park. In his response, it emerged that the four-time Grand Slam champion has made a conscious decision to conserve his energy in the bigger matches.

“Probably I could do it, but something that I learn playing the Grand Slam is I have to save energy,” the 21-year-old said. “There have been some moments, some matches that I didn’t save energy, pumping myself, playing with the crowd, screaming ‘Vamos’ every time I’m 100%. At the end in the third and the fourth set probably I struggled physically because of that.

“So I learned to save energy during the match, especially these kind of matches which is really physically demanding. I don’t know. I’m going to say I think I did great, but probably I could do it a little bit more in specific moments. In general, I’m going to say that in Grand Slam I prefer to be, like, calmer.”

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