Carlos Alcaraz did a really onerous preparation in Juan Carlos Ferrero’s Academy earlier than arriving in Melbourne, the place the Australian Open shall be performed beginning on Sunday 12 January. The Glad Slam is the one main match that the younger Spaniard has by no means received and he has all the time had issue taking part in his greatest tennis right here up to now.
Alcaraz© Instagram ATP Tour – Truthful Use
The previous world No.1 needed to miss the 2023 version on account of an damage sustained through the pre-season, whereas final 12 months he was defeated by Alexander Zverev within the quarterfinals. The 4-time Grand Slam champion needs to attain a greater lead to 2025 and has been getting ready with nice dedication in current weeks by making some modifications to his sport.
The 21-year-old from Murcia labored primarily on his serve, a shot that doesn’t but have the mandatory effectiveness and unpredictability on quick surfaces. The present world quantity 3 will use a 5 grams heavier racket this 12 months and can also be experimenting with a brand new kind of strings.
Carlitos had a apply session with Novak Djokovic, earlier than taking part in two exhibition matches within the coming days towards Alex de Minaur and Alexei Popyrin.
Becker warns Alcaraz
Not like earlier years, the Spanish champion is not going to play tournaments on purple clay in South America after the Australian Open. The previous world No.1 is entered within the prestigious ATP 500 in Rotterdam and Doha in February.
Alcaraz© Stream screenshot
Within the first episode of the brand new podcast ‘Becker Petkovic’, German legend Boris Becker invited Alcaraz to assume extra about his schedule: “He had a bad tournament schedule in 2024 because he played far too much.
Carlos is a diva on the court in a positive sense, a true artist. But you can only let him out when it really counts. He has to be on fire when he goes on the court. You don’t want to see an average Alcaraz, you want to see someone who is at 100 percent.
His team needs to focus less on the money and more on titles and the world ranking. Sure, he gets seven-figure appearance fees for show fights in the off-season, but coaches and managers simply have to protect him better.”
