(VIDEO) "This year has been challenging for me": Carlos Alcaraz' verdict on season leaves Tiafoe and Stephens perplexed

Carlos Alcaraz opened up on his season admitting that it has been a challenging one for him but this perplexed some players who sat alongside him at the press conference prior to the Charlotte Invitational.

An exhibition which saw Tiafoe defeat Alcaraz and Keys master Stephens, it is the second in a few days for Alcaraz who also competed at The Garden Cup. But it was more for the American duo that he'd won two Grand Slams in a season and he still lamented the fact that he was poor at other points.

Something that a winner like Alcaraz perhaps finds hard to take going into the 2025 season. Despite winning two Grand Slams, the latter half of the season again wasn't him at his sparkling best with the zippiness of the courts proving an issue in Paris and Turin.

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He also really failed to recover after losing out Olympic gold to Novak Djokovic, he cried after winning the silver medal and in a similar vein to Iga Swiatek never really returned to his best after that. While Jannik Sinner dominated either end of the season winning Australian Open, US Open and ATP Finals. Alcaraz also dealed with a lot of injuries so while some may be perplexed, his verdict may be valid.

“I’m not used to dealing with so many injuries, and this year was a complicated time for me when I faced the clay season, but I ended it up good,” the four-time Grand Slam champion said.

“But at the same time, I look back and I think I did have a pretty good season. I’m really proud of what I did to overcome the problems that I had and the doubts that I had.

“In general, I’m just happy with everything that I’ve learned this season and hopefully in 2025 I can try to copy or do even better.”

“Really? Tell us about it (laughing),” Stephens said. “Tough winning two majors. I hope you don’t have a season like that again.”