Alcaras should bounce back at the Miami Masters and regain his former glory.

Last week's Indian Wells Masters just concluded, and this week the Miami Masters kicks off in full swing. World No. 1, Spanish all-round warrior Alcaras, after shedding the burden of a 16-match winning streak at the start of the season in the Indian Wells Masters semifinals, enters the Miami Masters with a lighter load. He should bounce back from the bottom and regain his past brilliance.

In his career so far, Alcaras has participated in the Miami Masters five times, experiencing both the glory of winning the title and the bitterness of exiting in the first round.

In 2021, as a rookie on the ATP tour, Alcaras made his first appearance at the Miami Masters, and a first-round exit was understandable. In 2022, during his second Miami Masters campaign, riding the momentum from his career-first Masters semifinal at the preceding Indian Wells Masters (held back-to-back), he clinched the title and emerged victorious. This was Alcaras's first major career championship, and at 18 years and 10 months old, he became the youngest champion in the history of the Miami Masters, gaining worldwide fame.

However, after the sweet victory at the 2022 Miami Masters, Alcaras's results in the subsequent three years declined progressively, filled with bitterness.

At the 2023 Miami Masters, the defending champion Alcaras, who had just reclaimed the world No. 1 ranking by winning the Indian Wells Masters, was reversed and eliminated in the semifinals by the 10th seed, Italian rising star Sinner. In 2024, the top seed Alcaras, who had successfully defended his title at Indian Wells, was comprehensively defeated in two sets by the 11th seed, Bulgarian veteran Dimitrov, in the Miami Masters quarterfinals. In 2025, the second seed Alcaras, who suffered a painful loss in the Indian Wells Masters semifinals to British youngster Draper, missing out on a three-peat, still hadn't recovered from the heavy blow of the previous week. After a first-round bye, he was reversed and defeated in his second-round debut match by Belgian speedster Goffin, exiting in his first match.

At the 2026 Miami Masters, Alcaras should bounce back from the bottom and regain his former glory.

The bitterness of Alcaras's first-round exit at the 2025 Miami Masters stemmed from the unexpected loss in the preceding Indian Wells Masters semifinals, which cost him a three-peat. He couldn't snap back immediately, leading to a stumble and an unexpected defeat. Now, although Alcaras has suffered semifinal losses at Indian Wells for two consecutive years, he is no longer the same player. He can view defeats correctly and draw lessons from them.

At the post-match press conference after the Indian Wells Masters semifinal loss last week, Alcaras stated: "Medvedev's performance was nearly perfect. From start to finish, he played extremely aggressively and made almost no errors. I had never seen him in such peak form before. I tried to think of some ways and make adjustments, but still couldn't change the outcome of the loss."

Alcaras wasn't overly discouraged by this. He said: "Through this match, I realized, and other players can also realize, that to beat me, they must perform at this level and maintain their best form for one and a half to two hours throughout the match. This is somewhat advantageous for me as well. Because I must accept it and move forward. Since all players will approach me this way, I must prepare for it."

Regarding whether external expectations for the world No. 1 to keep winning bring psychological pressure, Alcaras said: "Absolutely not, because I simply don't think about that. Before each tournament, I don't think 'I must win' or 'I have to win.' My goal is to fight for myself, for my team, and for the people close to me. That's my mindset."

Even when winning the ATP500 Doha title, Alcaras revealed his thoughts: "For me, success isn't just about lifting trophies; it's about how you feel and how you view yourself. I am very proud and feel successful because I can learn from every match, both on and off the court. I learn from every experience in life, striving to grow as a person and in my tennis skills. I now feel I am in a position I truly enjoy. I believe this is real success, which is why I feel proud and happy every time I step onto the court."

(Source: Tennis Home Author:七彩豆粉)