Kim Clijsters breaks down Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz challenge of facing rivals who raise level in biggest moments

Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz have said something many top players quietly feel. When you are the best, everyone brings their best game against you. Serena Williams said this during the 2018 Wimbledon tournament, and Carlos Alcaraz recently joked that his rivals suddenly play like Roger Federer when they face him.

Now, former world number one Kim Clijsters has shared how she handled the same challenge during her career.

Kim Clijsters explains her mindset while facing lower ranked players like Serena Williams and Carlos Alcaraz opponents

Kim Clijsters spoke about this on the ‘Love All’ podcast and gave a very honest answer. She said she never took any match lightly, no matter who was on the other side of the net.“My mindset was, every match starts 0-0, and you have a 50% chance,” she said.“That’s what I always told myself.”She explained that when you are ranked number one, you mostly play against lower-ranked players.

And those players often see it as their big moment.“Also, when you get to the situation, we’ve seen Serena [Williams] and [Carlos] Alcaraz talk about it. When you play a lot of lower-ranked players, which they play most of the time when you’re ranked number one in the world, everybody can have their best match of the year when they play against you.”Because of that, Clijsters said she treated every single match like it was the biggest one.

“I want to be ready from the start of the match, the set, of the tournament, as if it’s a Grand Slam final.”She also admitted that this way of thinking is not easy.“That’s the mindset that can be tiring to always have, but that’s how I always approached it.”

Carlos Alcaraz record vs lower ranked players since 2022 US Open shows mixed results despite dominance

Carlos Alcaraz has already built a strong record since winning his first Grand Slam at the 2022 US Open. But his results also show that even top players can slip when facing lower-ranked opponents.Since that title win, Alcaraz has lost 41 matches in total. Out of those, five losses came against Novak Djokovic and five against Jannik Sinner, two of the best players on tour.Still, a big number stands out. Alcaraz has lost 24 matches to players ranked outside the top 10 in that same period.This is where the debate begins.On one side, it supports what Alcaraz said. Lower-ranked players do raise their level when they face him.

They take more risks, play more freely, and push harder because they have nothing to lose.On the other side, some believe it is also about consistency. As the favorite in those matches, Alcaraz is expected to control the game and avoid those slips.Either way, this is not a new problem. Serena Williams faced it. Kim Clijsters faced it. And now Carlos Alcaraz is dealing with it in his own way.