Carlos Alcaraz might be one of the best players in the world, but he still largely struggles with consistency, at least compared to Jannik Sinner.
Alcaraz broke out a couple of years ago, and he immediately captivated millions of fans around the world with his flashy style. He hits all the big shots, the trick shots, and some more, and isn't afraid to face any situation and find a solution for it.
The power he can generate while staying precise is incredible, but there is one major downside to his game, and that's consistency. In 2024, the Spaniard showed that he can't be consistent with his game, at least not so much as Jannik Sinner does.
Alcaraz can, of course, have great runs and win Grand Slam titles by steamrolling past all of his opponents, but on a bad day, he can also lose in the first round of a tournament, as he did at the Cincinnati Open this year.
He also lost early at the US Open and the Paris Masters, and while his opponents played incredibly well during those matches, the Spaniard's baseline level was to blame for those losses as well.
When he's not at his best, he can help his opponents quite a lot to trouble him, which creates situations that his young rival, Sinner, seemingly doesn't have to face.
Noted tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou, who currently works with Naomi Osaka, recently discussed the difference between Alcaraz and Sinner when analyzing the two players for Tennis Majors' Eye of the Coach.
According to the 54-year-old Frenchman, while Alcaraz has more firepower and can be more creative, he can also produce many unforced errors, something that is not visible in Sinner's matches.
"Alcaraz can create more. He has this extra power and he can fight with him in terms of movement also. The thing is, Alcaraz is making quite a lot of unforced errors whereas Sinner doesn’t, so the matches between them, there are a lot of ups and downs and it changes often."
Mouratoglou also said that Alcaraz is able to be better than Sinner, as his peak level is above the Italian's, which he showed by beating him three times in 2024, but the problem is, again, consistency.
His problems might not arise during matches against Sinner, but he struggles with them against other players, as he's not able to produce the same level throughout a tennis match. Being extremely consistent is what makes Sinner so difficult to play against, according to Mouratoglou.
"When Alcaraz plays at his best, I think he’s able to be better than Sinner – but he cannot play like this a whole match, and Sinner is always stable. Sinner can hit a winner on every single shot. That’s the feeling. You can never relax. You’re always in danger, always in every shot."
Alcaraz is certainly aware of his inconsistency, and it might be one of the parts of his game that he will focus on during the upcoming off-season.