Carlos Alcaraz had a sensational 2023 season, where he won his second Grand Slam title at the Wimbledon Championships. Despite finishing as world No. 2, he still had some fitness issues which made it tougher for him.
He pulled out of the 2023 Australian Open due to a hamstring injury, and also suffered a similar injury during his defeat against Cameron Norrie in the Rio Open final in February. During the French Open semi-final, he suffered cramps in the defeat vs Novak Djokovic. Then, he also withdrew from the Swiss Indoors Basel due to minor injuries.
Speaking to Punto de Break, tennis legend Boris Becker commented on Alcaraz’ fitness issues and attributed it to ‘motivation’. “My feeling has always been that when motivation goes down, the body suffers. If you skip some training sessions, the chances of getting injured or suffering physical discomfort are much greater,” he said.
“That’s what happened to me when I was 20 and I think which is the case of Alcaraz as well. It seems logical to me for a young man who is so successful, it has happened to everyone,” he added.
Alcaraz has been ranked as high as No. 1 in the past, and has won twelve ATP Tour-level singles titles, including two Grand Slams and four Masters 1000 trophies. After his 2022 US Open win, he became the youngest man and first teenager in the Open Era to top the singles rankings, at 19 years, four months and six days old.
Due to his physical traits, he has earned comparison to the Spanish tennis king Rafael Nadal, and in particular with his direct sprints, counter attacking abilities and high peak footspeed. He is an all-court, all-round tennis player, who has an aggressive baseline style of play, with preference on high winner count from his forehand. He also has a strong first serve, and a reliable second one, to which he adds topspin in order to get a high bounce off the court and either push back or get a weak return from a closer-returning opponent.
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