Tim Henman believes tennis world should observe cautiousness while discussing Alcaraz’s potential as the Spaniard attracted criticism for his playful style in the aftermath of his Australian Open exit.
7-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander believes that Alcaraz’s style of player during the semifinal loss to Alexander Zverev is reminiscent of Nick Kyrgios shot selection. The Spaniard was defeated in four sets by the German No. 1 in the final eight clash of Australian Open last week.
Thought the World No. 2 tried to turn the tables on Zverev after fighting back from 2-5 behind in the third set and forcing a tiebreak which he eventually won to avoid an even more convincing loss but displayed erratic brand of tennis for the most part of the match. The 20-year-old has been criticized for not tweaking his ultra-aggressive game when he was leaking so many unforced errors.
Former World No. 1 Wilander while recognizing the fact that Spaniard’s aggressive game brought him his second major title at Wimbledon last year, argued that the tactics were not paying off against big-serving World No. 6.
“The first few points in the match is what worries most people. You can’t do that when you play against Alexander Zverev,” the Swede told Eurosport.
“You can do that when you play against Rafa or Novak, where you have a chance to break and give yourself some time, but when you’re playing a guy like that, the first two points of [your] service game are huge because [if they] go up a break, that’s it, done.
“In the Wimbledon final against Djokovic, he started serving for the match with a drop shot, lost it, and then hit another drop shot, winning that to hold serve. Do we want him as a fan to change that?
“It’s the same as Nick Kyrgios. I’d like to see him win majors, but do I want him to hit tweeners? I’m not really sure. Alcaraz is sort of similar.”
Former British No. 1 Henman, though, suggested he feels it could be a mistake for the 2-time Grand Slam champion to make changes to his game that has already helped him achieve glory at such a young age.
“We need to be careful of what we wish for,” the former World No. 4 responded to Wilander.
Laura Robson, former WTA #27, defended the Murcian and assessed that the youngster is simply having a bit of dip in form since Wimbledon.
“There’s no panic for Carlos because he’s having a bit of a slump – I wouldn’t even call it that – post-Wimbledon,” Robson said.
“A couple of months where he hasn’t quite played as disciplined as he did there. It’s a bit of discipline that he’s lacking in his game because he wants to for all of these crazy shots, but you can. That’s half the fun. That’s why you pick up a racquet in the first place.
“You don’t want to lose that part of your game. No stress, no drama, and we’re going to be talking about him for another 10 or 15 years.”
Former Austrian WTA star and Eurosport host, Barbara Schett also observed that Alcaraz lacks discipline in shot selection, but believes it has to do with his younger self.
“I don’t see him as a showman, really. Nick Kyrgios, Gael Monfils, and Frances Tiafoe are showmen. Alcaraz is so young and he has those matches every now and then where he doesn’t have a game plan,” the former World No. 7 noted.
“He’s not very disciplined with his shot selection. That was the case [against Zverev]. We have to give him some time; those matches don’t happen that often anymore.”