Alcaraz 'Doesn't Have Standard' Of Djokovic, Nadal, Federer According To Former Players
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Carlos Alcaraz's frequent inconsistency is something that worries many former players and analysts. The Spaniard struggled to close out matches recently.
Alcaraz is probably the best player on the ATP Tour at the moment at his best level. The problem is that he isn't able to maintain his best level for a long, consistent period.
That's mostly why he often struggles especially in the best-of-three matches. That happened to him also recently at the 2025 Qatar Open in Doha.
Alcaraz lost already in the quarter-finals of the tournament despite leading 4-2 and 40-30 in the third set of the match. It was a surprising loss, especially since the Spaniard had that lead.
It once again showed his struggles with remaining consistent throughout the match, which was also a reason why former players Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson talked about the 21-year-old during the recent episode of their Nothing Major podcast.
Querrey asked the question, wondering whether these struggles would be persistent throughout Alcaraz's career. According to him, the four-time Grand Slam champion doesn't have the "standard" of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer at the moment.
"Is this just what we're going to get from him? I mean, which is really good, but he doesn't quite have that standard that like Novak, Rafa, and Roger had where they just don't have bad losses. Alcaraz still seems to throw some ups and downs in there."
Johnson was the one to answer the question. According to him, tennis fans were really spoiled by the greatness of the likes of the Big Three in the recent two decades.
The former American player often witnessed when standing on the opposite side of the court that when these players got into the lead, they just didn't let their opponents get back into the match.
"I think, at least for me, I feel as if we got very spoiled in the last 15-20 years watching Roger, Rafa, Novak, and then Wawrinka, Murray, Del Potro, Berdych, Tsonga. When they get the lead, they close the door."
Johnson thinks that is something that Alcaraz misses. He still has moments when the match slips out of his hands, which also happened against Jiri Lehecka in Qatar.
"And we just haven't seen with conviction from Alcaraz over the last couple of years. I believe that his top-end tennis is better than anyone when he is playing his best, but his mid-range every day can fluctuate from time to time, and it showed especially in this match [against Jiri Lehecka in Doha]."
"He did a really good job, he wasn't playing his best tennis. He has a 4-2 lead in the third, and a break point to go up a double break. And then about seven-and-a-half minutes later, he's lost his serve twice, and the match is over, which is just something we haven't seen from those top guys. When Roger got the lead, the door's closed. It's over."
