Carlos Alcaraz Garfia

[Tuco]

Alcaraz hat nach der Niederlage im HF von IW das jetzt trotzdem als bestes Ergebnis bei einem großen Hartplatzturnier in den letzten 12 Monaten zu verbuchen, ansonsten gab es keine einzige Halbfinalteilnahme. Da kann man schon mal fragen, geht er wirklich als Favorit ins Turnier von Miami? Mangels Alternative wahrscheinlich schon, aber mehr auch nicht - daran ändert auch die Abwesenheit von Sinner nichts, keine dieser Niederlagen war gegen Sinner (Dimitrov, Monfils, van de Zandschulp, Machac, Humbert, Ruud, Zverev, Djokovic, Draper), Alcaraz ist eben regelmäßig ausgeschieden, bevor er auf Sinner getroffen wäre.

Wenn der Spanier eine echte Konkurrenz für die #1 werden will muss er auf Hartplatz wieder bessere Ergebnisse holen, sonst wird das diese Saison trotz der kurzen Sperre für Sinner wohl wieder nichts werden.

 

[gentleman]

Passend zur Debatte um Alcaraz auch im Miami-Thread hat Gill Gross in seinem jüngsten Podcast eine mMn recht zutreffende Analyse zur Situation gemacht. Überschrift: No need to panic, aber es gebe schon einige Baustellen für ihn und sein Team...

Big picture? No need to panic. Carlos won 2 Slams last year and went 3-0 vs. Sinner. That’s why 2025 started with optimism. But so far it’s been rough, coming up empty in the Sunshine Double, a disappointing AO loss (not that he lost, but how), and inconsistency in big moments.

Are there problems? Yes. Gill points out that some issues are persisting - stagnation in some areas, even regression in others. The big question: How can he become more consistent and avoid early losses to lower-ranked players?

The mental game needs work. Gill highlights a pattern: after tough losses, it takes Alcaraz weeks to recover. He gets stuck in negativity too quickly - when confidence dips, instead of problem-solving, he just hits harder and harder. That approach isn’t working. Against great pace redirectors like Goffin, just hitting bigger won’t work. Alcaraz needs better on-court adjustments when things aren’t going his way.

The serve is a problem. His spot serving isn’t reliable, and everyone knows it. Opponents are aggressively attacking his serve because they’d rather take risks there than let him dictate rallies.

Players are exposing his return struggles. Lehecka, Goffin, Draper, Djokovic - all have attacked his return with success. Carlos hasn’t found a consistent answer for it.

Opponents are abusing the wide serve. Goffin won 14 of 16 points (?) with his slice serve out wide on the deuce side. Players keep going to that spot because Alcaraz hasn’t adjusted. He’s not chipping, positioning differently, or finding ways to counter it.

"Lockdown mode" is missing. Gill believes the world’s fastest player should have a gear for pure discipline - no errors, just control. But in tough moments, he often forces high-risk shots instead of settling into a rhythm.

His touch was way off. The drop shots, volleys - none of it was clicking. When that happens, the logical move would be to simplify and play with more structure, but that adjustment never came.

Snowball effect. Gill notes that when things start going south for Alcaraz, they tend to really spiral. There’s no reset button - just frustration, anxiety, and a desperate attempt to hit through problems instead of problem-solving.

How well does he handle pressure? This is a big question. He’s played huge matches well, but is that because he managed pressure effectively or because he just didn’t feel it? A lot of young players thrive in their early breakthrough moments because they feel no expectations.

Alcaraz has rarely been the overwhelming favorite. Even in his Slam wins: US Open 2022 - no pressure, no expectations. Roland Garros 2024 - arm issues, inconsistent form. Wimbledon 2023 - grass was still new for him. Now, that changes. He will be expected to win. How he handles that mentally is key.

The Djokovic-Alcaraz pattern. Look at their rivalry: the underdog has dominated. Almost every time they’ve faced off, the player who came in with less expectation has won. That’s a trend worth noting.

 

[gentleman]

Übrigens auch sehr sympathische und bodenständige Aussagen von Alcaraz im Vorfeld von Monte Carlo. Er sagt nach Miami habe er einen 5-tägigen Urlaub mit der Familie in Cancún gemacht um mal den Kopf auszulüften und andere Perspektiven und Themen zu haben. Zudem hat er bestätigt, dass er (wenn er nicht gerade irgendwo auf Turnierreise in der Welt ist) weiterhin bei seinen Eltern wohnt und auch nicht beabsichtigt, dies zu ändern. Erinnert vom Wesen sehr an den jungen Nadal, der ja mWn auch sehr lange im Elternhaus auf Mallorca wohnte und auch jetzt noch sehr eng mit der Familie verbunden ist.

Alcaraz about his vacation: "Yeah, well, after Miami I went to Cancún, to Mexico, with my family. Five days that I really needed—a bit of a disconnect, time with my family, a chance to relax, to think, to just follow the feeling I had, and it did me a lot of good. I spent time with my family, I was close to them—which, with all the travel, sometimes I feel a bit distant—and being able to reconnect with my siblings, with my parents, I think that was really beautiful and really important for me. I think it gave me a lot of energy heading into Monte Carlo and the clay season." via
@Eurosport_ES

https://x.com/i/web/status/1909400422265037161

 

[gentleman]

hab keinen Netflix-Account aber da werde ich mich vielleicht um Zugang bei Freunden/Familie bemühen, um mir die Doku anzuschauen...

https://x.com/i/web/status/1910320576750633013

 

[gentleman]

Nach dem Halbfinalsieg gegen ADF und dem damit verbundenen Nr. 1 Ranking im Race gewährt Alcaraz auf den Druck durch Sinners Sperre angesprochen, Einblicke wie er sich mental wieder neu ausgerichtet hat und wie sein Ansatz für die Matches nun aussieht, nachdem ihn die Thematik offenbar anfangs sehr beschäftigt hatte:

Alcaraz says that a lot of people were talking about how important it was for him to reach world #1 again & win tournaments in Sinner’s absence & he started focusing on the wrong things, ‘I realized the path I have to follow is not thinking about anything else but just enjoying’

“You said at the beginning of the week that the pressure linked to the absence or the ban of Jannik Sinner kind of killed you… Did you manage throughout this week to relieve yourself of this pressure?“ Carlos: “Since Jannik was unable to play tournaments, a lot of people were asking me and talking about, you know, how important the moment is that I have ahead to reach #1 again or to win tournaments or whatever. So probably in a certain way I was thinking so much about it instead of playing my good tennis and enjoying the time that I’m stepping on the court and playing matches. So after Miami, I realized the path that I have to follow… the things that I have to do... is not thinking about results, is not thinking about anything else but just enjoying. That's the most important thing for me and not hear all expectations or all the things that people are talking about you. So that's what I'm trying to do. That's what I realized that I had to do. I think I'm doing pretty good just thinking about the people that I have around, my family, my team.. and that's it. I think I’m just doing great on that terms.” (via Monte Carlo Press)