“All the pressure & media do not seem to affect Carlos Alcaraz but it does affect the rest of us” – 2021 US Open boys’ singles winner Daniel Rincon

Spain's promising young talent Daniel Rincon recently suggested that he has not been able to handle the burden of expectations in the way his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz has done.

Alcaraz has been graceful in both victory and defeat since winning his first Grand Slam title at the 2022 US Open. He has won several other titles, including the Wimbledon Championships this year, and was even ranked World No. 1 for a long time.

Meanwhile, Rincon, who won the US Open boys' singles title in 2021, has currently been struggling to make a mark on the ATP Challenger tour. The Rafa Nadal Academy trainee recently crashed out of the Szczecin Open in the opening round following a straight-set loss to Argentina's Pedro Cachin.

In a recent conversation with puntodebreak, Rincon revisited the joyous days following his success at the US Open two years ago, after which he featured in a documentary about the academy.

"I win the US Open, I don't remember what week; I go back to the Academy on Monday or Tuesday and the documentary came out that Saturday or the following Monday. Obviously, it's very nice, it's the documentary of the Academy that you are part of a series that shows the day-to-day life there and that has such a big name," he said.

Rincon, however, admitted to setting unrealistic expectations for himself and stated that he has been unable to cope with the strain of those promises in the way his compatriot Alcaraz has done.

"But, at the same time, I was an 18-year-old player. We are used to seeing Carlos Alcaraz, that all the pressure and the media do not seem to affect him, but it does affect the rest of us a little. I think I and a lot of people around me generated expectations that were a bit unrealistic," he added.

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"It was partly difficult for me to manage" - Daniel Rincon on being in the spotlight at a young age like Carlos Alcaraz

Daniel Rincon with US Open boys' trophy: 2021

Daniel Rincon further elaborated on the hardships of dealing with the attention he received after winning the coveted junior title in New York.

"It was partly difficult for me to manage. Too many spotlights: I was entering the stage of the Futures, I was one more. But I really felt that I wasn't one more, that I had to win every game and that I had to dazzle," he said.

Rincon also confessed to believing that he would break into the top 100 of the ATP rankings following his triumph at Flushing Meadows.

"It seemed that for having won the US Open and appearing in the documentary, in three months I was going to be top-100, but the reality was that a week later I had to go play a Futures for $15,000 and I was not even seeded," he added.