Roger Federer has nothing but praise for Carlos Alcaraz's game but the tennis legend has noticed one thing that he believes the 21-year-old needs to change going forward because it could potentially have a negative impact on his health and ultimately career.
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Last week, the former 20-time Grand Slam champion was in Berlin for the Laver Cup. During his time there, he had a chance to watch live the four-time Grand Slam champion. And the Spaniard certainly didn't disappoint, having claimed a straight-set win over Ben Shelton before also beating Taylor Fritz in a match that sealed Team Europe's victory over Team World.
From his VIP position, the 43-year-old enjoyed Alcaraz's tennis as the cameras even caught him once approving a stunning shot made by the Spaniard.
While Federer loves what the current world No. 3 brings to the table, he warns him that he must learn how to be more selective where he runs to the fullest since he has noticed that the 21-year-old also goes with the full strength even in "unnecessary" situations. And by stating that, the Swiss isn't saying that he should relax or anything like that but simply accept that going 100 percent in every situation does more harm than good.
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"His intensity, the power in his shots already, his physical capabilities that he has. Obviously he's got to be careful, you know, (that) he doesn't run basically for every ball because it's not necessary. But he'll learn that with age and with time. But also very strong (mentally) when it matters the most," Federer told Stan Sport, via Nine's Wide World of Sports.
Federer reflects on Alcaraz's impressive 2023 Wimbledon final win over Novak Djokovic
Going into the 2023 grass season, the Spaniard insisted that he didn't have big expectations because he felt there was still a lot he needed to learn about playing on the trickiest tennis surface. But then, he ended up going perfect and winning back-to-back titles at the Queen's Club and Wimbledon.
His first triumph at The Championships was particularly impressive since he managed to edge out Djokovic in a marathon 1-6 7-6 (6) 6-1 3-6 6-4. By doing so, Alcaraz became the first player to beat the Serb at The All England Club since 2017. This past summer, the 21-year-old repeated as Wimbledon champion but this time beat the 37-year-old in three sets in the final.
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"Fifth set, this is stuff that we know that Novak thrives and plays at his absolute best. And for Carlos to come through that, I mean, for me, that's when he showed like 'OK, he's the guy' and he's going to be around for a very long time... incredible movement and power," Federer reflected.
Federer tips Carlos Alcaraz for Australian Open success
So far, the opening Grand Slam of the season is the only Major where the world No. 3 hasn't had much success or reached a semifinal. However, it should be noted that he was forced to miss the 2023 tournament edition due to an unfortunate knee injury sustained in the offseason.
So this year, it was his first campaign at Melbourne Park as a top player. But after easily making it past his opening four matches, Alcaraz got upset by Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open quarterfinal.
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Asked about the chances of the 21-year-old winning his first main prize in Melbourne next year, Federer said that could easily happen.
"Of course he can. And if you win all the other different majors, I mean, you can win Australia. He'll be physically perfectly prepared. It's not something, you know, like Wimbledon, where maybe you've got to skip the French Open if you want to give yourself the best chance, or if clay is not your surface, you've got to do an extra effort," the former six-time Australian Open winner explained.
"For him it (hard court) comes very natural, so I think he'll have a really good chance of winning. I mean, the big matches are played at night as well, which is, I think, a bit slower for him. He'll win an Australian Open, (the) question is when, he's had the most incredible career already. I mean, it's fantastic that he's already got four slams without talking about all the other stuff that he's already achieved. Fantastic effort."
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Meanwhile, Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner split four Grand Slams between them this year. During the Laver Cup in Berlin, the world No. 3 said he would like to see him and the Italian make a Big Three-like rivalry and compete at the highest possible level against each other.
But before the time comes for the next Major in 2025 January, Alcaraz has to focus on doing well in the last couple of Masters tournaments, as well as the ATP Finals.
