Carlos Alcaraz can be ‘f*****g horrendous’ claims former top 10 player
Carlos Alcaraz has been criticised by former top 10 player Andrea Petkovic, who claims that the Spaniard ‘does not have a plan B’.
Alcaraz is currently World No.3, sitting behind Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev, with highlights from his 2024 season including winning two major titles at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
We’re still dreaming! 🏆🏆💚
📸 Getty pic.twitter.com/BYR1rcYFiy
— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) July 14, 2024
Despite currently holding two Grand Slam titles, Alcaraz is ranked below Grand Slam titleless Zverev after suffering early defeats at the US Open, and Masters 1000 tournaments in Cincinnati and Paris.
This is something that Petkovic has touched on when speaking on The Rennae Stubbs Podcast, revealing the differences between Alcaraz and his rivals.
“The one quibble I have with Carlos is what the others don’t have,” said Petkovic. “Zverev doesn’t have [the issue], even Taylor [Fritz] doesn’t have, Jannik definitely doesn’t have, Novak [Djokovic] definitely doesn’t have. When Carlos is bad, he is f***ing horrendous.”
The German continued, “He doesn’t have a plan B – because you are still Carlos Alcaraz, who has won four Slams. But he then can’t make a ball anymore, he’s double-faulting, he’s missing, he doesn’t even get into a rally. So when Carlos is bad, he’s so bad. And at the highest level, he’s probably the best player.
“He was 3-0 against Jannik Sinner, who was the best player this season. At his low level, he can still lose to Jakub Mensik, and Jannik Sinner would not lose to Jakub Mensik probably.”
Alcaraz is the only player to have beaten World No.1 Sinner on multiple occasions this year, having gone unbeaten in their three meetings in 2024.
However, the 21-year-old has also suffered surprise defeats to the likes of Botic van de Zandschulp, Gael Monfils and Nicolas Jarry.
The four-time Grand Slam champion will now look ahead to the 2025 season, which he will begin at statistically his worst-performing major the Australian Open.
Inside the baseline…
It has definitely been apparent in Carlos Alcaraz’s huge trajectory towards the top of the rankings over the past few years that his level can fluctuate throughout matches, and that has been apparent by some of his results during the 2024 season. That being said, Andrea Petkovic’s comments seem a bit harsh and Alcaraz’s ‘horrendous’ is still very competitive with his competitors on the ATP Tour. Petkovic also mentioned that Alcaraz probably has the highest peak level on tour, and it really is hard to disagree with that.
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