Carlos Alcaraz only played the Australian Open in the first month of the new season, reaching the quarterfinals before losing in four sets to Serbian legend Novak Djokovic. The young Spanish champion did not get a bad result at Melbourne Park, but he expected to go further in a tournament in which he has never yet managed to play his best tennis.
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It is no coincidence that the AO is the only Major tournament that the 21-year-old from Murcia has failed to win so far in his career. During the first Grand Slam of 2025, the current world number 3 showed some progresses compared to last year, and his serve seemed more effective.
Alcaraz's serve is still not good enough
In recent months, Carlitos' serve had been defined by several insiders and former players as too predictable and inaccurate in moments of greater pressure.
The Spaniard worked a lot on this shot during the off-season, but his certainties collapsed in the second part of the match against Nole in Melbourne and the weaknesses that have characterized Alcaraz's career so far came to the surface.
Speaking on Eurosport, former French Top 10 Arnaud Clement revealed Carlos' serve is still not good enough: "I know that lately he has been working a lot on this shot and has changed his technique, but we haven't seen the effects of this work yet. In reality, his servant is not a weapon as in the case of Alexander Zverev or Jannik Sinner. The Spaniard absolutely needs to improve in this aspect to be able to get more free points."
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The 4-time Grand Slam champion will play his first match in Rotterdam today and his opponent will be local idol Botic van de Zandschulp.
Carlitos has chosen to play on the surface on which he is most vulnerable at this stage of the season, a wise decision that testifies to his willingness to improve to become an even more complete player.
