Carlos Alcaraz lost 7-5, 6-3 to David Goffin at the Astana Open on Tuesday, his first match on the ATP tour as world number one. The Spaniard said that he will have to learn to play against opponents who increase the pressure and aggressiveness.
Alcaraz, the youngest player to top the men’s world rankings, had his serve broken up to five times by Goffin, who entered the tournament as a “lucky loser”.
“He played better than me, very, very aggressive,” said the 19-year-old Alcaraz, who won his first grand slam title at the US Open last month.
“I couldn’t handle that pressure that he put on me and of course it’s something I have to learn and take lessons from this game.”
“Coming back to compete is never easy. I had played two games on this track. It is not easy to get used to it, it is very, very slow. It was very hard for me, for my confidence,” added Alcaraz.
Alcaraz, who has qualified for the season-ending ATP Finals, is scheduled to compete at the ATP 500 in Basel later this month.