The season of Carlos Alcaraz was excellent, especially during the summer. The young Spaniard became the youngest player ever to win the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships in the same year, demonstrating an ability to adapt to all surfaces that has few equals in the history of this sport.
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The former world number 1 also won the silver medal at the Paris Olympics, but his final loss to Novak Djokovic was certainly a big disappointment for him who was favored by bookmakers. That defeat affected his performance in Cincinnati and especially at the US Open, where he did not play well and obtained poor results that have driven him away from the top of the ATP ranking. The 21-year-old from Murcia is more than 4000 points away from Jannik Sinner and its almost impossible that he can close this gap by the end of 2024.
Its about to start a part of the season that is not very suitable for the style of play of Carlitos, who had struggled a lot last year in the tournaments on the indoor hard court. Before flying to China for the Beijing and Shanghai tournaments, the four-time Grand Slam champion will play the Laver Cup in Berlin this weekend. The current number 3 of the world will debut today in doubles alongside Alexander Zverev.
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Carlitos can do better
At just 21, Alcaraz has already achieved results that place him among the best players of the last 20 years. The Spanish ace has an incredible completeness for his age and possesses many weapons on the tennis court, but sometimes he tends to be confused and suffers from ups and downs during the season.
Before the start of the 2024 Laver Cup, Swiss legend Roger Federer gave advice to the young Spaniard: I think his intensity, the power in his shots, obviously his physical capabilities, but he has to be careful. He doesnt need to run for every ball, but he will learn that with age and time. But hes also very strong when it matters the most.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion also added: My biggest advice I could give to the juniors is that you have to remember that you are 50 in the coach as well? I mean, yes, youre gonna have your people, you know, your parents, your coach, whoever your fitness coach, etc. Youre all gonna tell you what to do, but at some point, youre going to be alone on court. Then you have to remember, deep down what you think is, right? The 21-year-old from Murcia is still very young and has plenty of time to improve his consistency. The four-time Grand Slam champion is working hard with his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero to improve.
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The Laver Cup is about to start
Carlitos is ready to play at the Uber Arena in Berlin: Im not used to playing so much indoor, so its always great to accumulate matches on the indoor tracks to prepare myself and try to play better, this is not an official ATP tournament but Ill try to play as if it were, With my best tennis and see where my level is against a play that is in full shape. Until the ATP Finals come at the end of the year, I will try to play as many matches as I can. They are on the indoor track, so I will try to improve in every tournament and in every match. Here I will try to be the best partner and the best player for my team.
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When I played against Rafa the first time, there were times when it was like a nightmare. Playing against Rafa is always difficult. It has always been a privilege to share the track, whether youre playing with or against him. So every time I face him, I try to be a good enough player to beat him. All of us who play against Rafa think its a privilege, or at least me".
Alcaraz wont have to defend many points in the last part of the season. Last year, the semi-finals in Beijing and the semifinals at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin were his best results. In Beijing he was defeated by a great Sinner, while in Turin Djokovic inflicted a very severe lesson.
The feeling is that Carlos' game is less effective on the indoor hard court, where he can make less difference with his variations. The World number 3 will also play the 'Six Kings Slam' in Saudi Arabia next month, along with other great players such as Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune.
