Carlos Alcaraz claimed he was satisfied with his performances as he reached the quarterfinals of the US Open in his comeback event from an injury lay-off, but that version of events has been disputed by a leading tennis voice.

Alcaraz stunned many tennis observers when he opted to make his comeback to the sport in a best-of-five-set Grand Slam tournament, as he tested out the wrist injury he suffered back in April in the most demanding setting of them all.

The Spaniard admitted he was surprised by his performances in New York and he even said he could leave the court with a smile as he lost a fifth set tie-break against Ben Shelton in a compelling last eight clash.

“I leave the court happy,” Alcaraz said. “I leave the court with a smile. I am proud of myself, how I fought.”

Now Patrick Mouratoglou, former coach of Serena Williams and Holger Rune, has suggested Alcaraz was covering up his true feelings with his post-match comments.

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“Carlos Alcaraz spent four and a half hours on court, lost 10-7 in the fifth-set tie-break, and walked off saying he was happy. I’m not buying it,” declared Mouratoglou in a LinkedIn post.

“Let me explain where I stand, because I’m genuinely torn on this one. The first part is simple. Champions hate to lose. That is exactly why they are champions. They fight as hard as they possibly can to avoid the worst thing on the planet, which is losing.

“I worked with Serena for ten years. I can tell you how much she hated it. Pete Sampras couldn’t get out of bed for two weeks after a defeat. And the players who pretend they don’t care, I think they’re lying. You cannot build a culture of winning and be fine with losing at the same time.

“Then there is the graciousness itself. In the past, you lost, you shook hands, and that was it. Today it has become a trend. Novak is always incredibly gracious when he loses. Carlos as well. Sabalenka is one of the big exceptions.

“Here is why I’m torn. Long term, the process matters more than the short-term result. When winning becomes more important than anything, you make the wrong decisions in the middle of a match, again and again. To reach your full potential you have to play the way you should play, all the time, and trust that after two or three years it takes you where you want to go. Wanting to win too much can become an obstacle to developing.

“Carlos doesn’t need to develop. He is already there. So if he really meant what he said, it tells me he came to this US Open without believing he could win it.

“He hadn’t had enough time to prepare. He wasn’t physically ready, and I believe that, because he lost nine games in a row against Ben Shelton and you could see on his face how much he was struggling.

“Maybe this tournament simply went beyond his own expectations. But a champion of that level, even when he is not at 100% physically, should still be thinking: I’m going to win this anyway.”

Alcaraz will now look to end a troubled 2026 on a high, with his next appearance set to come in the Laver Cup in London next week.

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