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Carlos Alcaraz says he wants to take longer breaks from tennis, not because his body demands them, but because he wants to remain mentally fresh and enjoy competing.

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It feels like I've been competing the whole time. So I surprise myself the way that I’m feeling and the way that I’m recovering after every match.

The 23-year-old returned at the US Open after missing four months with a right wrist injury. He reached the fourth round on Friday by defeating Wu Yibing 6-3, 6-4, 6-1, and said he felt better than expected, with no setbacks after his matches.

"It feels like I've been competing the whole time. So I surprise myself the way that I’m feeling and the way that I’m recovering after every match," Alcaraz said. He added that he was happy to perform at his best after each match.

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I’m kind of a guy that doesn’t need to play a lot of tournaments.

Alcaraz said the injury that forced him to withdraw from the Barcelona Open did not result from playing too much. Future breaks would instead help him prepare mentally for Grand Slams and Masters 1000 events. He played 80 matches last year and finished 22-3, including a seventh major title at the Australian Open.

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I just want to step on the court, have joy, have fun on the court.

The player said the crowded calendar can leave him feeling unprepared and unable to enjoy the court. "I just want to step on the court, have joy, have fun on the court," he said. Longer breaks, he added, would let him miss tennis and make it impossible to play every tournament throughout the season.

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That’s why I just want to have long breaks, because it’s impossible to last the whole season playing every tournament.