World no. 6 Carlos Alcaraz entered the 2022 French Open as a dark horse after his clay court victories over the likes of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Alcaraz acquitted himself well, advancing to the quarterfinals against fellow top-10 player Alexander Zverev. However, that's as far as the Spaniard's Roland Garros run would go, as he was bested by Zverev in four close sets on Tuesday. After the match, Alcaraz delivered a bold take on his prospects at Grand Slams in the future, per Tennis365.
“I have to improve for the next Grand Slam or next matches. But I would say I’m not far away from reaching a semi-final or being able to win a Grand Slam…I would say I have the level, I have the confidence to win a Grand Slam or reach the semi-finals next time.”
Alcaraz did acknowledge that he “has to improve”, though in the same breath, said that he is “not far away from reaching a semi-final or being able to win a Grand Slam.”
It's hard to argue with him too. Alcaraz became the only player in the history of the sport to defeat Nadal and Djokovic in consecutive matches at the same clay court tournament in Madrid ahead of the French Open.
While it didn't end with a French Open title, it was still a very successful clay court season for Alcaraz. Given his level of play and confidence in himself, one can reasonably expect more grand Slam success to come his way in the future.