'He Never Looks Dumb Playing A Drop Shot': Roddick Full Of Praise For Alcaraz

Saturday, 06 May 2023 at 20:40

Updated at Saturday, 06 May 2023 at 18:09

byZlatko Vodenicharov

Carlos Alcaraz is one of the most talented players to ever compete on the ATP Tour and he keeps proving it with every match that he plays.

With 117 wins in his first 150 matches, no one has ever been more successful than the 20-year-old Spaniard. He seems to ease past all of his opponents and dominates in almost every match that he plays, including his semifinal win at the 2023 Madrid Open against Borna Coric.

One of the shots that is often discussed when talking about Alcaraz is the drop shot. It seems to be the shot that no one can execute as well as he does and even renowned coach Rick Macci said that the Spanish prodigy will transcend the way the game of tennis is taught.

Speaking on the Tennis Channel after the Spaniards win, Andy Roddick discussed how he makes his opponents feel uncomfortable but also how his shot selection almost never seems to be incorrect due to his incredible precision and success rate.

"Even if you have a great game plan and your coach is talking to you the whole time, you still have to make the right choice on shot selection. It feels like he never looks dumb playing a drop shot, which is not a realistic thing for any of us. Normally, someone who hits a drop shot with the frequency that he does, normally looks dumb every once in a while. We don't say that often at all."

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After flying into the match and playing toe to toe with the Spaniard for the first thirty minutes, it seemed that Borna Coric started missing just a little bit more and while for a regular tennis fan it may have seemed as a bad shot selection from the Croat, Andy Roddick knows the real reason.

"We saw it looked like Coric is making unforced errors. We saw him miss a ball in the middle of the court that is deep. But that's because he's been there for an hour and twenty and he's realizing that might actually be the best ball I get this entire rally and I have to force the issue on a ball that I don't want to."

After explaining how he makes his opponents feel the pressure and make the shots that they wouldn't usually make, the American emphasized that it's a trait of great players, and Alcaraz is certainly one of them.

"And that is what greats make you do. Play outside of your comfort zone, make bad decisions and make you attack from places and with shots you don't want to."