Carlos Alcaraz will be hoping to bounce back at the Monte Carlo Masters next week after suffering an early exit in Miami.
The Spaniard began the year in imperious form, winning 16 consecutive matches.
This culminated in him completing the ‘Career Grand Slam’ at the Australian Open, before later winning the Qatar Open title.
He has since suffered defeats to Daniil Medvedev and Sebastian Korda in Indian Wells and Miami, respectively.
Despite the losses, Alcaraz remains the man to beat on the ATP Tour, and is widely considered to be a future all-time great.
This is a view shared by Rick Macci – the former coach of Serena Williams.
Rick Macci says Carlos Alcaraz could challenge Novak Djokovic’s Grand Slam total due to his all-court ability
Novak Djokovic is the most successful male player of all time.
With 24 major titles to his name, he stands alongside Margaret Court in having the most Grand Slam singles titles of any player in tennis history.
However, could Carlos Alcaraz challenge Djokovic’s total in the future?
Can Carlos Alcaraz win MORE Grand Slams than Novak Djokovic? 🤔
Rick Macci, the former coach of Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova, certainly seems to think so.
Alcaraz has already won seven major titles by the age of 22. Djokovic, meanwhile, had won just one of his 24 major titles before turning 23 years old.
“Another major league reason the Spanish Magician is sky rocketing towards RARE AIR is his adaptability to play on every surface,” Macci said in a post on X.
“His best surface is the one he is playing on. This is RARE.
“This is why Carlos barring injury will someday be a double digit slam stroker and be right there with the Joker.
After losing to Korda in Miami, Alcaraz travelled to Murcia to begin his clay-court preparations.
The Spaniard, who will be the top seed in Monte Carlo next week, has been training with Spanish youngster Martin Landaluce ahead of the Monegasque event.
Carlos Alcaraz’s Monte Carlo record
Alcaraz has only made two appearance at the event during his career – the first being in 2022.
Alcaraz was seeded eighth and received a bye through to the second round.
Unfortunately for fans of the Spaniard, he lost a tightly-contested match to American Sebastian Korda, 6-7, 7-6, 3-6.
Stefanos Tsitsipas went on to win the title, defeating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the final.
Three years later, Alcaraz returned to Monaco.
Last year, the Spaniard won his first Monte Carlo title, beating Lorenzo Musetti 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 in the final.
After the match, Alcaraz told reporters: “Well, I think today was about who is going to or who was going to deal with the nerves much better, the pressure. He played his first Masters 1000 final, a huge moment for him. For me, as well, because as I say, it was a difficult month for me. And being in a final, I just put pressure on myself. There were a lot of nerves.
“So at the beginning, it was about who was going to deal with the nerves and the pressure much better. I think he did it pretty well. Much better than I did.
“Tactically, I didn’t play well. So I just was playing probably to his best shot and missing first, second shot, almost in every point making a lot of mistakes, let’s say. I had to change it. I had to change the situations.
“I changed tactically a little bit, making more rallies. I tried not to make many mistakes and just get in the good rhythm again. I think that I played well.
“At the beginning of the second set, I think I started the set really strong. It helped me a lot to get into the match and get to the good rhythm again.
“After that, you know, in the middle of the second set, I think he got injured. So it was disappointing, I think, for him for sure. It wasn’t good for him, for his people.
“But I have to say that I feel sorry for him, but I’m pretty sure he’s gonna reach these rounds more than once, because the level he reach it didn’t surprise at all, because I know he’s doing the right things, he’s putting good work every day, and we’re gonna see Lorenzo Musetti in this position more often.”
