Feliciano Lopez thinks in order to achieve great results his compatriot Alcaraz needs to be “fresh and start with a spark and high intensity” right from the beginning and he cannot adopt Djokovic’s “diesel mode” for that purpose.
With the careers of the Big Three, almost nearing the end, it appears to many the 20-year-old will be the next big thing in the sport and Madrid Open director Feliciano Lopez is on them.
Lopez, 41 still competing at the ATP tour suggested Alcaraz’s dip in form at the end of 2023 season happened because of him playing “at an enormously demanding level.”
Alcaraz registered a career-best season this year as he clinched six titles and posted 65-12 (84.4%) win rate and made a World No. 2 finish. The Murcian has sealed two Masters 1000 crowns, two ATP 500 events, an ATP 250 title and his maiden Wimbledon title at the All England Club by defeating 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in a five-set marathon final.
The ATP #2 in a recent talk highlighted the significance of consistency and maintaining a higher level throughout the next season.
“The year is very demanding, very long, and the last part of the season has cost me a lot. Approaches that I have to improve for next year – realizing that the season continues until November, not having those ups and downs,” he told the media during an exhibition event in Mexico.
In an interview with Spanish media AS, Lopez, offered his assessment of the World No. 2’s comments while explaining why the young Spaniard has not been his usual dominating self in the last few months of 2023 campaign.
“The thing is that he plays every week at an enormously demanding level. When you aspire to be in the finals or win the tournaments, it is different and much more stressful than it can be for most. His comment is the result of learning. He’s only 20 years old, sometimes we forget that,” said the former World No. 12.
“Furthermore, he plays with a lot of intensity, he needs to be fresh, have spark. He cannot achieve great results in a more diesel mode, like Djokovic, who sometimes starts matches at a slow pace, until he finds his moment and is already invincible.
“Maybe what has happened to him is that at the end of the year he has not felt as comfortable, as fresh, it is normal. Because it has happened to everyone, until they learn and get to know each other.
“Carlos still does not have a database large enough to say, ‘here yes, here no, I’ll get ready here, I’ll leave this’. It’s very complicated. And everything that is happening to him, what he is experiencing so soon… it is a tsunami that comes into your life at 20 years old and it is difficult to manage it.
“That’s why I give so much credit to what he’s doing. Because he doesn’t scare him, he has enough maturity to assimilate it, the courage to face Djokovic, who is the best player, for many, in history, without fear.”