Carlos Alcaraz's title-less streak reaches six months.
The last time Carlos Alcaraz lifted a trophy he had just beaten Novak Djokovic in the final of Wimbledon. That victory now seems like years ago, not just months. Since Alcaraz won, Djokovic has won another Grand Slam (2023 US Open) and the ATP Finals. Jannik Sinner has won three titles himself.
There have been many who have said that while Alcaraz is a great player, he also needs to change the way he approaches the game. He simply needs to stop being overly aggressive and let the game come to him. Or to paraphrase Nick Kyrgios, Alcaraz needs to stop trying to be such a showman and just play tennis.
To be sure, Alcaraz has reached a level of success that most other players do not. He has won two Grand Slams and he reached No. 1. It is also easy to forget that Carlos Alcaraz is only 20 years old. The problem is that Alcaraz almost seems to have plateaued a bit and other players have adjusted to him and he has not been able to adjust back.
Carlos Alcaraz appears to try to do too much when he simply does not need to
This was especially true in Alcaraz’s quarterfinal loss at the Australian Open to Alexander Zverev. Alcaraz was without his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, who had to miss the Australian Open after having recent knee surgery. Zverev started off amazingly hot with his serve and Alcaraz did not truly adjust until the third set set. But after Alcaraz began moving around a bit more and coming into the net, Zverev re-adjusted and Alcaraz could not do the same.
Nick Kyrgios sees a real problem with how Alcaraz is playing currently and has had some element of it for his entire career. While commentating on the match for Eurosport, Kyrgios said, “One thing (Alcaraz) has to look out for. When he goes to these stadiums around the world, he’s achieved more than I have in my career already, but he doesn’t need to always try and put on such a big show because he’s already good enough.”
Maybe that just comes from Carlos Alcaraz being so young. He has a lot of energy and hasn’t learned to pace that a bit more. Until he does so, he will keep losing matches where he is likely the better player.
