After an eight-month absence, Carlos Alcaraz said he switched to a different sport in order to..

After switching to tennis, Carlos Alcaraz said he began to “feel alive” on the court once more.

Carlos Alcaraz has acknowledged that he reconnected with tennis and found himself on the court thanks to another sport. At the most recent Indian Wells, the world No. 2 ended an eight-month title drought and kept the trophy he also won there from the previous year. Alcaraz is attempting to complete the “sunshine double” by winning the Miami Open now that he feels “alive.”

With just 15 games lost, Alcaraz has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Miami Open with relative ease. The 20-year-old, who successfully defended his championship in Indian Wells earlier this month, is currently riding a nine-match winning streak. However, it comes after a trying moment.

The Spaniard did not lift a trophy between his July victory at Wimbledon and his most recent achievement at Indian Wells, a period of eight months. He had also not made it to a final since August prior to the Californian Masters event. At the end of 2023, he experienced a few heartbreaking early eliminations and even went on a three-match losing streak.

And he had a difficult start to 2024 after losing in the Australian Open quarterfinal and the Buenos Aires semifinal. He also had an ankle injury that forced him to retire from his Rio Open opening match. But with the’sunshine double’ of the Masters in America, Alcaraz has entirely turned things around, and he has finally acknowledged that golf has been his covert weapon.

Alcaraz recalled his tough Australian Open loss to Alexander Zverev. “Those little things that I did wrong, I have always said that from each match you have to take things to improve,” he said. “I learned a lot from that match.” I had fairly regular weeks following my time in Australia, but I wasn’t feeling well on the court and wasn’t able to find my game, which made me enjoy myself less on the court.”

While competing in Australia and South America, the usually cheerful Alcaraz appeared to be a shell of the player he once was. And by concentrating on his off-court pursuits, he was able to turn things around. The world No. 2 went on, saying, “I believe that what I have done is strive to feel better about the

“Away from the court, doing what I enjoy and what helps me relax with my people.” I was able to do that at Indian Wells because I play golf virtually every day there, which really helped. Golf is something that helps me de-stress. It really helps me to feel alive again on the court.”

Alcaraz’s decision to concentrate on a different sport obviously paid off, as he became even more driven to practice his tennis. “It was a turning point for me,” he continued. “Right now, we are good, calm, and wanting to get better, get on the court, and put in more hours.” That has seemed to be the most crucial factor to me.”

Now is Alcaraz’s chance to get revenge for one of his losses during his rough patch at the end of the previous campaign. They will now play in the Miami quarterfinal after the 20-year-old’s defeat to Grigor Dimitrov in Shanghai, which initiated a three-match losing streak that continued into the Paris Masters and ATP Finals. Alcaraz still has a three-to-one advantage in their head-to-head record overall.