Carlos Alcaraz revealed that he struggled with illness during his opening game loss at the ATP Finals to Casper Ruud on Monday. (More Tennis News)
During the contest, Carlos Alcaraz hit 26 unforced errors compared to Casper Ruud's 10, while also failing to save any of the four break points he faced
Carlos Alcaraz revealed that he struggled with illness during his opening game loss at the ATP Finals to Casper Ruud on Monday. (More Tennis News)
Alcaraz looked out of sorts as he fell to a 1-6 5-7 defeat to Ruud in just 86 minutes in Turin, and now faces an uphill struggle if he is to progress from the John Newcombe Group.
During the contest, the Spaniard hit 26 unforced errors compared to his opponents' 10, while also failing to save any of the four break points he faced.
It also marked Alcaraz's first loss against Ruud in their fifth match against each other, with the 21-year-old confirming he had felt unwell leading up to the tournament.
바카라śI don바카라™t like talking about things like this because it sounds like an excuse and I don바카라™t want to take anything away from what Casper did to win the match,바카라ť began Alcaraz.
바카라śBefore coming here, I was unwell at home. When I got to Turin, practice was going well; I could handle long rallies, competing and playing.
"And I hoped things would get better as the days went by.
"I don바카라™t know if it was because of the nerves of the first match, but I didn바카라™t feel completely well. My stomach limited my game a lot and made me feel uncomfortable.
"I could바카라™ve done better. I바카라™m not going to feel good in every match I play throughout the year, but it really limited me in terms of my recovery.바카라ť
Alcaraz will be back on court on Wednesday, when he takes on the loser of Monday's clash between Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev.
Failing to win would see the four-time grand slam champion fall short once again at the year-end tournament, but he was confident of claiming a maiden ATP Finals crown.Â
바카라śI don바카라™t want to think much beyond today... Given how I바카라™ve felt, it바카라™s difficult to think about the semis,바카라ť said Alcaraz.
바카라śThe good thing in this sport is that your game can feel very bad one day and very good the next.
"There have been many players who have lost the first match of the [Nitto] ATP Finals and ended up winning. I reached the semis last year after losing on the first day.
"Now I want to take it day by day, to feel better, and see how the next match is. I바카라™ll approach it as best I can. Let바카라™s hope things turn out well.바카라ť