Many consider Carlos Alcaraz the most talented and complete young player in tennis history. However, Juan Carlos Ferrero is not getting complacent and thinks his player can enhance his game further.
Alcaraz burst onto the scene as a teenager. He won his maiden Masters 1000 title as an 18-year-old qualifier before becoming a Grand Slam champion at the 2022 US Open a few months later at just 19.
Since then, the Spaniard has only gone from strength to strength, winning two Wimbledon titles and the 2024 French Open. He was also the ATP world No. 1 after winning his US Open title over two years ago.
Ferrero, Alcaraz’s coach since the start of his career, told El Nuevo Dia that he can get even better. He praised the 21-year-old for improving his mental consistency, which is often seen as one of the Olympic silver medalist’s weaknesses.
“He has a lot of room for growth; he is still 21 years old. The level of mental consistency has improved a lot. And on a technical level as well; he is very complete, but he still has things to improve.”
The thought of Alcaraz getting even better is daunting for other players at or near the top of the men’s game. As Ferrero said in his comments, he is a complete technical player who has every shot in the game.
While his rivals Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic crush players with their relentlessly consistent baseline hitting, Alcaraz is usually more electrifying in how he can use a variety of shots to win matches.
The four-time Grand Slam winner has been compared to Roger Federer because of his ability to use drop shots, slices, and volleys or suddenly inject pace into rallies with his groundstrokes, thrilling fans in the process.
However, it has understandably taken Alcaraz some time to figure out which shot to use at certain stages in matches. While having every shot available is helpful, it can also make things more complicated and prevent players from thinking clearly.
The most significant technical improvement Alcaraz can make is with his serve. While the Spaniard’s first and second serve are solid and by no means bad, it is the weakest part of his formidable overall game.
Alcaraz’s completeness explains why he was the only player to beat Jannik Sinner during his breakthrough 2024 season consistently. Despite the Italian’s results being the best of any player last year, Alcaraz beat him in all three of their ATP meetings.
Fans will have to wait until the 2025 Italian Open in May at the earliest to see Alcaraz and Sinner renew their rivalry because of the latter’s suspension from professional tennis until May 4th after reaching a case settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Sinner received that ban after testing positive for the banned substance clostebol at the 2024 Indian Wells Open 12 months ago. He was set to appear at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in April until WADA offered to settle the case.
The three-time Grand Slam champion initially did not want to settle with WADA because he felt he was innocent, but his lawyer convinced him. WADA does not dispute that Sinner was accidentally contaminated, but still felt a ban was appropriate.
