Carlos Alcaraz reflects on ‘tough month' after winning Monte-Carlo Masters

The Spaniard battled from a set down to beat Lorenzo Musetti 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 and lifted his first trophy since his 2024 Wimbledon victory.

Alcaraz looked far more comfortable on the clay courts of Monaco than over the last few months, where he had most recently lost to David Goffin in the second round of the Miami Open.

"I don't feel that way," stated Alcaraz, when asked if his win had "proved a point".

"I always say that, let's say freak talk, when you're not winning or people have high expectations of you when you don't win tournaments or matches they probably talk a lot.

"I just realised that I don't have to think about all they are talking about and just focus on myself. So I'm not going to say I just proved them wrong.

"I'm just really happy to be able to refocus on the important things and just be focused on myself and the part that I have to follow with my team. Just playing for myself. So I'm just really happy that I was able to do it."

He continued by stating: "It's been a tough month for me. On and off the court. I don't want to say in public, but I was struggling stepping on the court. It's been difficult to find a way to not think about everything".

Whilst the Spaniard had only played one match at the Monte Carlo event prior to this season's edition, he has had plenty of history with his next two tournaments.

In Barcelona, Alcaraz is a two-time champion (2022 and 2023) - withdrawing from the event in 2024 due to forearm issues.

Additionally, at the Madrid Open, he is also a two-time champion (2022 and 2023). It was in the Spanish capital where he truly announced himself to the tennis world at large, being the first - and only - player to beat Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at the same clay-court event.

"I'm pretty sure that it's going to be difficult months ahead because a lot of people have high expectations of me having a really good clay season," Alcaraz admitted.

"Probably they want me to win almost every tournament, so it's going to be difficult to deal with it, I guess.

"But one thing that I learned the last few months is I have to think about myself. I have to think about myself. I have to just think about my people, my team, my family, my friends, my close friends.

"No matter what happens on the court, if I win, if I lose, I just have to leave the court happy.

"I'm proud about everything I have done. So that's something that I learned, and I think I did it this week and it paid off."

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