Carlos Alcaraz lost his first match at the 2022 Monte-Carlo Masters, and many started questioning if he wasn't tired.
The Spanish 18-year-old sensation was one of the biggest favorites to win the 2022 Monte-Carlo Masters, especially after his biggest opponent from the top part of the draw, Novak Djokovic lost his second-round match.
However, Carlos Alcaraz joined him on the list of surprising early exits from the first ATP Masters 1000 tournament on the clay this season, losing to America's Sebastian Korda in his opening match at the tournament.
Alcaraz won two titles in 2022 on both hard and clay courts in Miami and Rio. Now, he'll need to fully switch his focus to the clay as the second Grand Slam of the season - Roland Garros - is right behind the corner.
In his recent interview with Eurosport, Boris Becker said that Carlos Alcaraz might need to take a break before the Roland Garros as a result of his early loss at the tournament in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
"He must not believe his own hype now. He's not the best yet. He is the high-flyer of the scene. The way he played this year, there was only one player who was better and he is also from Spain. But the clay court season is exhausting, the matches are longer."
"I hope he doesn't play Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid and also Rome, because then it's too much for my taste. He has to take a break because he's only human and he's also tired sometimes."
"When you continue to play tired, the first injuries occur. It is very important to find the fine line between what is good in tournaments and matches and what is too much?"
While the six-time Grand Slam champion Becker might have a point about Alcaraz being only a human, it still remains a question if he won't be tempted to appear in front of the home crowd in Barcelona and Madrid before playing the Roland Garros.