Alcaraz 'couldn't push Rublev to the limit' with forearm concerns in Madrid defeat

Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour

Carlos Alcaraz's bid for a hat trick of Mutua Madrid Open trophies was ended on Wednesday at the hands of Andrey Rublev, who the Spaniard called "outstanding" in his post-match press conference.

"He was quite good today. His serve was unbelievable today," Alcaraz said after his 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 quarter-final defeat. "He brought me a few opportunities in the match to break his serve. I couldn't make it. That was the key of the match. But I think his game was outstanding today."

The No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings cashed in on his lone break of the match to win the opening set, but converted just one of his eight break chances overall according to Infosys ATP Stats, missing out on all five opportunities across the second and third sets.

"I couldn't push him to the limits in every ball, so I think he hit the ball in a good position every time," Alcaraz continued. "And a player like Rublev, if he hits the ball in a good position, it's almost impossible to make points, to beat him."

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In addition to facing the powerful game of Rublev, Alcaraz also had to contend with a lingering forearm problem, which kept him out of Monte-Carlo and Barcelona.

"Every time that I'm hitting the forehand, I'm thinking about the forearm, if I'm getting a feeling or not," he explained. "I have to work hard these days if I want to go to Rome with good feelings, without pain, without thinking about my forearm — but it's going to be a slow process, I guess. I have to be patient in that way.

"Right now I leave Madrid with good feelings in the forearm, but I have to do good work."

The 20-year-old played for nearly three hours on Tuesday in his three-set win against Jan-Lennard Struff and felt the effects against Rublev. He played with "difficult feelings" towards the end of the quarter-final match, opting to slice his forehand more to put less stress on his forearm. But with a full week of rest before the start of the next clay-court ATP Masters 1000 in Rome, Alcaraz hopes to be "close to 100 per cent" by the next time he takes the court.

"I think I'll be OK to play Rome," he concluded.