Former player Rennae Stubbs was left unimpressed with certain things Carlos Alcaraz was doing during his match against Novak Djokovic.
It was a very good match between Alcaraz and Djokovic in the semifinals of the 2023 Roland Garros for much of it, until the 20-year-old Spaniard started to cramp. That moment changed the match completely and ultimately saw Djokovic leave the court as the winner of the match.
Alcaraz was heavily invested in the match from the start and it might not have been a very good thing. He was quite nervous from the start but settled down a bit after that. Or so it seemed. Internally Alcaraz was battling to stay cool under pressure and all of that tension ultimately contributed to the cramps which cost him the match. Speaking on her own Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, the Australian analyzed the situation.
We all knew the match was going to be the semifinals and Alcaraz learned a very big lesson about when you go into these matches, you have to be able to be able to control your nerves, your anxiety level, your stress, your fist pumping.
Even when he won the second set, he double-pumped to the crowd with his arms in the air. My first immediate thought when he did that was, ‘What are you doing.’ Like, yes that’s a big set, yes it’s a great achievement but man you’ve got to win two more of those against this guy.
A very passionate player who plays the game with a big smile, Alcaraz is yet to learn about the intricacies of the sport. Djokovic knows them perfectly which was a huge advantage for the Serbian. Kyrgios knows it well as he explained on social media after the match. Stubbs wants to see Alcaraz learn how to manage all of that.
So you’ve got to calm down, bring all the levels down, like everything, you’ve got to bring it all down. That’s what Novak does better than anybody. He’s able to manage a five set match. Even when he’s not playing well, you see him just be like ‘I’m going to be fine,’ and Alcaraz has to learn that, how to handle that moment.
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