Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz both dealt with the same issue of players raising their level against them.
During the 2018 Wimbledon tournament, Williams claimed she ‘plays everyone at their greatest’.
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Then, earlier this year, Alcaraz joked that his rivals play like ‘Roger Federer’ against him.
Former world number one Kim Clijsters has now shared how she dealt with the issue.
Kim Clijsters says she treated every match like a Grand Slam final
During the latest episode of ‘Love All‘, Clijsters explained her approach to playing lower-ranked players.
“My mindset was, every match starts 0-0, and you have a 50% chance,” she said.
“That’s what I always told myself.
“Also, when you get to the situation, we’ve seen Serena [Williams] and [Carlos] Alcaraz talk about it. When you play a lot of lower-ranked players, which they play most of the time when you’re ranked number one in the world, everybody can have their best match of the year when they play against you.
“So to not get caught off guard early in the tournament, that 50-50 mindset [helps].
“I want to be ready from the start of the match, the set, of the tournament, as if it’s a Grand Slam final.
“That’s the mindset that can be tiring to always have, but that’s how I always approached it.”
Clijsters won four Grand Slam titles during her illustrious career and held the number-one ranking for 20 weeks.
Williams and Alcaraz have also enjoyed success, even though players raise their game against them.
But just how well has Alcaraz, in particular, performed against lower-ranked players?
Carlos Alcaraz has lost 24 matches to players ranked outside the top 10 since winning his first Grand Slam
Alcaraz won his first Grand Slam title at the 2022 US Open.
Since then, Alcaraz has only lost 41 matches.
Of those 41 defeats, Alcaraz has lost to Novak Djokovic five times and Jannik Sinner five times.
But that’s not to say he doesn’t lose to lower-ranked players, too…
Carlos Alcaraz’s defeats since 2022 US Open win
- 2022 – 4
- 2023 – 12
- 2024 – 13
- 2025 – 9
- 2026 – 3
Carlos Alcaraz’s 2022 defeats (post-US Open)
| Match | Opponent | Opponent’s rank | Score |
| Davis Cup Finals – RR | Felix Auger-Aliassime | 13 | 7-6, 4-6, 2-6 |
| Astana Open – R32 | David Goffin | 66 | 5-7, 3-6 |
| Swiss Indoors – SF | Felix Auger-Aliassime | 9 | 3-6, 2-6 |
| Paris Masters – QF | Holger Rune | 18 | 3-6, 6-6 (RET) |
Carlos Alcaraz’s 2023 defeats
| Match | Opponent | Opponent’s rank | Score |
| Rio Open – F | Cameron Norrie | 13 | 7-5, 4-6, 5-7 |
| Miami Open – SF | Jannik Sinner | 11 | 7-6, 4-6, 2-6 |
| Italian Open – R32 | Fabian Marozsan | 135 | 3-6, 6-7 |
| French Open – SF | Novak Djokovic | 3 | 3-6, 7-5, 1-6, 1-6 |
| Canadian Open – QF | Tommy Paul | 14 | 3-6, 6-4, 3-6 |
| Cincinnati Open – F | Novak Djokovic | 2 | 7-5, 6-7, 6-7 |
| US Open – SF | Daniil Medvedev | 3 | 6-7, 1-6, 6-3, 3-6 |
| China Open – SF | Jannik Sinner | 7 | 6-7, 1-6 |
| Shanghai Masters – R16 | Grigor Dimitrov | 19 | 7-5, 2-6, 4-6 |
| Paris Masters – R32 | Roman Safiullin | 45 | 3-6, 4-6 |
| ATP Finals – RR | Alexander Zverev | 7 | 7-6, 3-6, 4-6 |
| ATP Finals – SF | Novak Djokovic | 1 | 3-6, 2-6 |
Carlos Alcaraz’s 2024 defeats
| Match | Opponent | Opponent’s rank | Score |
| 2024 Australian Open – QF | Alexander Zverev | 6 | 1-6, 3-6, 7-6, 4-6 |
| 2024 Argentina Open – SF | Nicolas Jarry | 21 | 6-7, 3-6 |
| 2024 Rio Open – R32 | Thiago Monteiro | 117 | 1-1 (RET) |
| 2024 Miami Open – QF | Grigor Dimitrov | 12 | 2-6, 4-6 |
| 2024 Madrid Open – QF | Andrey Rublev | 8 | 6-4, 3-6, 2-6 |
| 2024 Queen’s – R16 | Jack Draper | 31 | 6-7, 3-6 |
| 2024 Olympics – F | Novak Djokovic | 2 | 6-7, 6-7 |
| 2024 Cincinnati Open – R32 | Gael Monfils | 46 | 6-4, 6-7, 4-6 |
| 2024 US Open – R64 | Botic van de Zandschulp | 74 | 1-6, 5-7, 4-6 |
| 2024 Shanghai Masters – QF | Tomas Machac | 33 | 6-7, 5-7 |
| 2024 Paris Masters – R16 | Ugo Humbert | 18 | 1-6, 6-3, 5-7 |
| 2024 ATP Finals – RR | Casper Ruud | 7 | 1-6, 5-7 |
| 2024 ATP Finals – RR | Alexander Zverev | 2 | 6-7, 4-6 |
Carlos Alcaraz’s 2025 defeats
| Match | Opponent | Opponent’s rank | Score |
| 2025 Australian Open – QF | Novak Djokovic | 7 | 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 4-6 |
| 2025 Qatar Open – QF | Jiri Lehecka | 25 | 3-6, 6-3, 4-6 |
| 2025 Indian Wells – SF | Jack Draper | 14 | 1-6, 6-0, 4-6 |
| 2025 Miami Open – R64 | David Goffin | 55 | 7-5, 4-6, 3-6 |
| 2025 Barcelona Open – F | Holger Rune | 13 | 6-7, 2-6 |
| 2025 Wimbledon – F | Jannik Sinner | 1 | 6-4, 4-6, 4-6, 4-6 |
| 2025 Laver Cup – RR | Taylor Fritz | 5 | 3-6, 2-6 |
| 2025 Paris Masters – R32 | Cameron Norrie | 31 | 6-4, 3-6, 4-6 |
| 2025 ATP Finals – F | Jannik Sinner | 2 | 6-7, 5-7 |
Carlos Alcaraz’s 2026 defeats
| Match | Opponent | Opponent’s rank | Score |
| Indian Wells – SF | Daniil Medvedev | 11 | 3-6, 6-7 |
| Miami Open – R32 | Sebastian Korda | 36 | 3-6, 7-5, 4-6 |
| Monte Carlo Masters – F | Jannik Sinner | 2 | 6-7, 3-6 |
Those losses might prove Alcaraz right, that players do raise their level against him.
Or you could argue, he just needs to play better to stop losing matches in which he is the heavy favourite…
Whatever side of the argument you sit on, it’s certainly an interesting debate!
