After losing to Novak Djokovic at the Cincinnati Masters in 2023, Carlos Alcaraz’s form has declined. Should this concern us?
Carlos Alcaraz, the current world No. 2, failed to defend his title at the Argentina Open, as he lost 6-7 (3), 3-6 to Nicolas Jarry in the semifinals.
The Spanish sensation has thus failed to defend his 500 ATP points, which could cause his ranking to drop. Alcaraz notably lost the World No. 1 spot to Novak Djokovic last year.
The 20-year-old has failed to win a title since his triumph at Wimbledon last year. At this rate, his contemporary, Jannik Sinner, who won this year’s Australian Open, might overtake him pretty soon.
However, Alcaraz should be worried about more deeply rooted issues, which might affect his performance in the long run.
A brief look at Carlos Alcaraz’s performances after his 2023 Cincinnati Open success
The two-time Grand Slam winner lost in an epic final at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati last year to Djokovic. Losing a marathon match in gruelling heat may have affected the Spaniard mentally, as his performance levels have seemingly dropped since then.
Alcaraz then lost in four sets to Daniil Medvedev in the US Open semifinals before losing to Sinner in the last four of the China Open. Thereafter, he fared poorly in both the Shanghai and Paris Masters, losing in the third and first rounds to Grigor Dimitrov and Roman Safiullin, respectively.
Both of them were big upsets, Dimitrov’s good run in 2023 notwithstanding.
He then reached the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals, losing to Djokovic. He was ousted by Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and has now failed to defend his crown in Buenos Aires.
There are indeed some issues with Alcaraz’s game
Of late, the youngster has looked in trouble against big hitters. The likes of Sinner, Zverev, and Jarry have huge groundstrokes and, hence, have often succeeded in pushing him well behind the baseline before finishing points off.
Alcaraz is exactly six feet tall, which could be one of the reasons why his serve is not at an elite level. He is probably an inch or two shorter than the minimum height required to have a booming serve. Hence, there are not too many easy points on offer for him.
As a result, he has to toil harder and play longer rallies, even in his own service games. His movement on court is probably second to none, and he also has great drop shots and lobs at his disposal. In that respect, he can be compared with a young Rafael Nadal, whose court coverage used to be matchless but whose serve and groundstrokes lacked venom at times.
However, one has to remember that Nadal had some elite top spin in his forehand that was a lethal weapon on high-bouncing clay. Alcaraz’s forehand, although very good, does not yet have that X-factor.
Moreover, while his crosscourt forehand is among the best in business, his down-the-line forehand is not yet at the same level. Additionally, his backhand is not as good as his forehand overall.
The Spaniard, however, is still a long way from attaining complete physical maturity. Over the course of time, he is almost certain to gain some muscle mass, which should help add more power to his serve and groundstrokes. The same happened with Nadal as well.
Hence, Alcaraz should not be disappointed and perhaps should spend time on becoming stronger physically. He already has the mental fortitude that is needed to win long matches in big tournaments, and if he adds the physique as well, he could become unstoppable.
