Carlos AlcarazSpaniard felt short of his best physically against Goffin
March 22, 2025
Peter Staples/ATP Tour
Carlos Alcaraz suffers just his third opening-match defeat at the ATP Masters 1000s. By ATP Staff
Carlos Alcaraz made no excuses for his Friday defeat to David Goffin at the Miami Open presented by Itau. Following the Belgian’s 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 victory, the 21-year-old Spaniard pulled no punches in a blunt self-assessment.
“It was a poor level from me,” Alcaraz said after suffering his first loss this season to a player outside the Top 30 of the PIF ATP Rankings (9-1). “I just wanted to play better. After the first set, I thought I was going to be better. He played well, he played good tennis. My level didn’t increase. I think his level after the first set increased a little bit.”
Alcaraz pointed to Goffin’s high first-serve percentage — 65 per cent, according to Infosys ATP Stats — as a key confidence booster for the Belgian, who now owns a 2-1 edge in their Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry. But Alcaraz ultimately put the blame for the defeat squarely on his own shoulders.
“I didn’t play well, physically I didn’t feel well. When you don’t have the confidence of your level physically, I think it’s really tough to maintain good tennis,” he said.
“I didn’t feel well in my legs. I wasn’t injured, I wasn’t sick. I was feeling perfectly before the match,” Alcaraz later clarified, saying his legs began to tire at the end of the second set. “I felt good, a little bit nervous, which is normal before the match. But nothing more than that. I just felt ready, I thought that I was going to play really good tennis. It didn’t happen.”
After suffering just his third opening-match defeat at the ATP Masters 1000s, Alcaraz is locked into the No. 3 spot in the PIF ATP Rankings following the tournament. The 2022 Miami champion could have passed Alexander Zverev for No. 2 if he won the title and the German exited early.
