Carlos Alcaraz exacts revenge after Jack Draper really cut him deep

Carlos Alcaraz exacted revenge over after revealing his loss to the Brit in the Indian Wells semi-final left him questioning his future in tennis. suffered a back in March, as his rival went on to claim the biggest title of his career with a straight-set win over Holger Rune in the Indian Wells final.

But the four-time Grand Slam winner bounced back from that defeat to this time in the quarter-finals of the Italian Open on Wednesday. The world No. 3 showed his quality under pressure, battling valiantly to save break points at key moments and take his own chances when they came, having trailed 4-2 in the first set. Alcaraz, reaching the semis in Rome for the first time, will play Italy's Lorenzo Musetti next. And the Spaniard can breath a sigh of relief after enduring one of the toughest periods of his career recently, having been left hurt by the defeat to Draper and called the first set of that match "one of the worst I've played in my whole career".

Alcaraz followed it up with more disappointment, with a round of 64 exit to David Goffin at the Miami Open and losing in the final of the Barcelona Open to Rune in April. The 22-year-old prodigy even made the stunning revelation that he considered hanging up his racket after those results, which forced him to reevaluate his career path.

He said: "In Indian Wells, I felt like I was playing well and was quite calm off-court. The loss to Draper hurt me a lot. Then, in Miami, losing to David Goffin was the straw that broke the camel's back. We had to stop, sit down and see what was happening.

"That moment helped me a lot. You learn most from bad times. I've learned especially to focus on what's important. There are many things we give importance to that perhaps really aren't important. I've identified what's truly important in tennis for me and will continue along that path."

Asked if he believed that he was at 'rock bottom' following the loss to German star Goffin, Alcaraz said: "More or less, yes, you could say that. Speaking to the press was hard; I didn't even know what to say. So yes, you could say that."

He went on to admit that he considered leaving tennis behind, adding: "In those situations, you think about many things, and when something painful is so recent, you never think about it with perspective.

"Many thoughts come into your head: stop, stop for a week, not go to a tournament, stop for several months, keep training, take a holiday, then train for what's next. Many thoughts came into my head and one of the best things I did was take several days off and give myself the chance to think clearly, see things with perspective, and then decide from there."

The tables now seemed to have turned, meanwhile, as Draper came down hard on himself after his defeat in Rome. The 23-year-old was looking to build on his run to the Madrid Open final earlier this month but was unable to convert three break points against Alcaraz.

"I obviously lost to a great player today," Draper admitted. "I'm very disappointed with the way I performed in a way, I think from a mental and emotional point of view. Like, obviously, you could say that's normal, I've had a tough four weeks. I don't want to be normal. I want to be right up there."

Draper, who also reached the final of the Qatar Open earlier this year, during his attempt to break Alcaraz's serve early in the second set, having been broken himself moments prior.

He added: "It hurts a lot, this kind of loss. But like I said, Carlos played a really good match and he was the better player. I have to accept that, go back to the drawing board, really prepare well for the French Open, know that I'm hopefully going to have many more chances against these great players."

His rival Alcaraz now looks to be finding form as he eyes his second French Open victory at Roland Garros in late May. His triumph over Musetti to win the Monte-Carlo Masters in Monaco was his first Masters title in over a year.