Carlos Alcaraz entered Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco on a tremendous high following his maiden Masters 1000 title triumph in Miami just a fortnight ago. Before entering the Principality, the Spaniard had a 17-2 W-L record in 2022, only behind Rafael Nadal’s 20 wins this year. He was expected to go dip deep in Monaco, if not win the title.

However, he suffered an unexpected first-round exit at Monte Carlo Masters on Wednesday. 21-year-old American, Sebastian Korda stunned Alcaraz 7-6(2), 6-7(5), 6-3 in their Round of 32 clash on Wednesday.

Despite his loss, Alcaraz remained positive and expressed the desire to improve with each passing tournament.

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Carlos Alcaraz is focused on improving

The Spaniard should have been disappointed following his opening-round exit in Monaco. However, instead of cringing about his loss, Alcaraz is focused on coming back strongly in his next tournament.

Displaying maturity, he said, “I lost, didn’t die. There is a new chance to get better next week,” after his first-round loss at Monaco.

Carlos Alcaraz had a great 2021, and many people took note of his skills even though he was a rising youngster of just 17 years of age. At the US Open, he reached his first major quarter-final but had to retire in his match against Felix Auger Aliassime, because of an injury to his leg. He also won the Next Gen ATP finals by defeating Sebastian Korda and broke into the top 35 on the ATP ranking list.

Alcaraz so far in 2022

Alcaraz has been enjoying a great run so far in 2022. Australian Open 2022 was the first Grand Slam where he was seeded. He reached the third round but lost in a five-set thriller to Matteo Berrettini. Alcaraz won his first ATP 500 title at the Rio Open by defeating the top seed Matteo Berrettini, Fabio Fognini, and Diego Schwartzman en route to his title run. He continued his great form and run at the Indian Wells to reach his first Masters 1000 semifinal but lost to his idol Rafael Nadal in a three-set encounter.

In the next hard court tournament, at the Miami Open, Carlos Alcaraz created history by becoming the youngest champion at the tournament and defeated some gig names like Marin Cilic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Hubert Hurkacz, and Casper Ruud to eventually create history at the tournament.

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