'Made Me Feel Like A 13-Year-Old': Carlos Alcaraz Assesses Miami Open Loss To Grigor Dimitrov

The top-seeded Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz lost 6-2 6-4 in straight sets on Thursday against Grigor Dimitrov, ending his dreams of winning the Sunshine Double in stunning fashion.

In a match that lasted 92 minutes, Dimitrov, the 11th seed from Bulgaria, won 77% of the points on his first serve, saved four of his five break points, and broke the Spaniard four times. In comparison, Alcaraz could only win 56% of his first-serve points.

Carlos Alcaraz, who won the Indian Wells title 11 days prior and the Miami Open in 2022, was devastated by the loss. He was three wins away from becoming the first player to win the Sunshine Double since Roger Federer in 2017.

After Grigor Dimitrov, 32, ended his nine-match winning streak with one of his greatest performances in recent memory, the World No. 2 was ready to admit that he was overpowered by his opponent. Since defeating Roger Federer, who was ranked third at the time, in the US Open quarterfinals in 2019, Dimitrov had not triumphed over a player ranked in the top five of the ATP Rankings.

Speaking to the press following the defeat, Carlos Alcaraz assessed his performance against the Bulgarian and expressed his frustration, albeit in a very calm and polite manner.

“He played amazing tennis, almost perfect, if I can say ‘perfect’. I mean, I couldn’t find solutions. I couldn’t find a way to make him feel uncomfortable on the court. It was a great game from his side,” the youngster stated.

“I have a lot of frustrations right now, because he made me feel like I’m 13 years old (smiling). You know, it was crazy. I was talking to my team saying that I don’t know what I have to do. I don’t know his weakness. I don’t know anything.”

Carlos Alcaraz claimed to have performed better than he had in Shanghai the previous year, when Grigor Dimitrov overcame a set deficit to win 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 and record his first victory over the Spaniard in four Lexus ATP Head2Head confrontations.

“I think I played good tennis. I mean, I left the court thinking that probably I had to change my game a little bit earlier, but anyway, I feel like I played a good tennis. Not perfect but a good one…,” Carlos Alcaraz added.

“Honestly, in Shanghai, I didn’t play too well, I think I played better today than the second and third set in Shanghai.”

Assuming Jannik Sinner hoists the trophy in Miami on Sunday, Carlos Alcaraz, who has a 15-4 match record through the first quarter of the season, will fall to No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings on Monday. Significantly, his victory at the BNP Paribas Open earlier this month ended a title drought that began at Wimbledon in July of last year.

The 20-year-old will now concentrate on the clay season, where he is anticipated to compete for the World No. 1 ranking against Daniil Medvedev, Novak Djokovic, and Jannik Sinner. Carlos Alcaraz will next be seen competing at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, which begins on April 8 and is the third ATP Masters 1000 of the year.