Carlos Alcaraz is through to the Monte-Carlo Masters quarter-finals for the second consecutive year.
Alcaraz defeated Tomas Martin Etcheverry to reach the last eight, but he did not have everything his own way.
The Spaniard conceded the second set after hitting a difficult spell, which saw him hit a worrying 23 unforced errors.
Alcaraz explained how he managed to stay focused in the match when his form deserted him, and how his mentality helps him to overcome struggles in matches.
Carlos Alcaraz explains how he’s improved his mentality
Alcaraz was praised in his post-match press conference at the Monte-Carlo Masters for keeping his head after losing the second set.
In response, the world number one said: “Well, first of all, thank you! I’ll tell my coach that you said it! It’s something I’ve worked on.
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“When I was younger, if I missed a shot, I would scream, sometimes throw the racket, and fill my mind with negative thoughts. And those thoughts could last one or two games.”
Alcaraz has made a mentality shift which ensures he stays focused even when he’s suffering during a match.
“We realized how important it is to fill your mind with positive things all the time, even when things aren’t going well, when you’re not feeling the ball or missing a lot of shots,” he explained.
“The more you fill your mind with positive thoughts, the quicker things can turn around. It’s something I’m still working on.
“If I miss an easy shot, I try to understand what happened, think about how I could have done it better, and then focus on the next point.
“I try to do that the whole match. Sometimes it’s really difficult, but it’s something I keep in mind. It’s a goal in every match.”
Alcaraz bounced back from losing the second set to win the decider 6-3 and set up a last eight clash with Alexander Bublik.
Carlos Alcaraz’s excellent record in Monte-Carlo
Alcaraz won the Monte-Carlo Masters last season, which marked the first time he had won the first clay court event of the year.
Before 2026, Alcaraz had only ever played the event twice which means he holds a very impressive win rate.
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After defeating Sebastian Baez and Etcheverry, Alcaraz now holds a 7-1 win-loss record at the tournament.
That means he has won 87.5% of his matches at the Monte-Carlo Masters, which makes it his third most impressive Masters event statistically.
Alcaraz has won 88% of his matches at the Italian Open and the Madrid Open, meaning he’s become virtually unbeatable at clay court Masters events.
