Carlos Alcaraz: It's a challenge for me to be the same

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World No. 4 Carlos Alcaraz admits there is pressure on him to deliver at the Cincinnati Masters but adds he is embracing the challenge. Alcaraz is now a top-5 player and the top favorite to win it all wherever he goes. Alcaraz, who captured four titles in the first five months of the season, hasn't had a triumph since Madrid even though he has played two finals since.

After winning his second Masters title in Madrid, the pressure increased and it has affected Alcaraz. “Right now, I take each match as a challenge for me to stay the same as always. I am No. 4 in the world, one of the favourites to win this tournament, so it is a bit tough to handle the pressure,” Alcaraz said ahead of his Cincinnati campaign, per the ATP website.

“But I am training at my best. I am training with the objective to improve and try to produce the game I produced during the clay season and in Miami. It is a challenge for me to be the same”.

Alcaraz wants to use pressure in his 'favor'

In Montreal, Alcaraz was the second-seeded player and the top favorite to win the title since Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal weren't playing.

In his opening match at the tournament, Alcaraz suffered a shock defeat to Tommy Paul. After the loss, Alcaraz admitted he couldn't handle the enormous pressure. “I understood everything of what happened in Montreal.

I couldn’t handle the pressure to be one of the favourites to win the tournament or be the ranking that I am right now. I come here to train and now show where I am,” Alcaraz said. “The kind of player I am means that I am trying to use the pressure in my favour.

I know I am playing against the best players in the world, so I am going to try my best”. This week in Cincinnati, Alcaraz is the third-seeded player and has a first round bye. Alcaraz plays in the second round either Mackenzie McDonald or Nikoloz Basilashvili.