Alcaraz pulls no punches after Miami exit: 'It was a poor level'

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.