Alcaraz Told To 'Go Back To Basics' Amid Too Much Showmanship On Court

Saturday, 03 February 2024 at 05:30

byZachary Wimer

Carlos Alcaraz's recent performances have many tennis analysts 'worried,' and they urge him to get back to the basics.

The Spaniard has not been playing the sort of tennis we've been used to from him, at least not when it comes to efficiency. He's as flashy as ever and can hit some incredible shots, but there isn't that ruthless precision we saw from him earlier in his career.

He wins matches but simply can't step up when it matters most, and that's been hurting him a lot. The recent results were not good, and many people think it's because he went away from the basics, which is why analysts are urging him to get back to that.

Former player and longtime Sky Sports Italy commentator Paolo Bertolucci believes that Alcaraz should simplify things and go back to the basics. He had way too many rallies against Alexander Zverev in Melbourne, where he tried to be 'too cute.'

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"In my opinion Alcaraz is great technically, even physically, but mentally he is light years away from Sinner. He looks for something else besides just winning the point, many times he seems to have fun and involve the audience because he has a tennis made of ‘special effects’."

It's an interesting comparison to Jannik Sinner because the Italian has looked all about business recently. It wasn't like that all the time, but in recent months, he just seemed to be unstoppable.

Alcaraz himself struggled against Sinner more than once, so there might be something there. Also, Bertolucci is not the first person to make a point about Alcaraz being too flashy.

"He is not satisfied with just winning the point, he wants to do it with a double somersault. They are beautiful things, they drive you crazy to watch, but sometimes they make you lose the matches."

"There are times when everything is easy and you can have fun. However, when it’s 3-3 in the third set, you need to go back to basics, and he has been lacking lately from this point of view."