Carlos Alcaraz seemed on top of the world during the summer of last year, but things have looked very different since then.
Back in the summer of 2023, Carlos Alcaraz just won his second Grand Slam trophy by snapping Novak Djokovic's 10-year unbeaten run on the Centre Court of Wimbledon.
Fast forward to now, and the Spaniard looks not only behind Djokovic but also Jannik Sinner, who catapulted himself in front of both in recent weeks.
So what happened? First of all, Alcaraz hasn't played the way we know he can play. He also dealt with some injuries, which has been a theme for much of his career so far. Sinner, meanwhile, took a huge step forward and just won his maiden Grand Slam trophy in Melbourne.
Djokovic reminded everyone in Turin that he's not to discounted easily, and here we are. It's something Alcaraz's coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, warned about. He talked about it in a recent interview with La Nacion.
"I think his (Jannik Sinner's) appearance was a bit like when Rafa and Roger appeared, who between them were pushing the car, until then Novak came in, who is now a bit the one pushing Carlos and Sinner."
"I told Carlos last year, when Novak won the Masters with that level: 'Have you seen that? Now what we have to do is train like animals to reach Novak's level. Jannik is going to do it and we have to do it.'"
It's an interesting perspective from Ferrero, but it's certainly not wrong. Alcaraz needs to catch up because he is clearly trailing the other two right now. Whether he needs more matches or more practices remains to be seen, but as the coach and former world no. 1, he certainly knows the recipe.
A big part of the season is coming up, one where Alcaraz played well last year, and as a result, he defends a lot of points.
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