“Other players have developed and Carlos Alcaraz hasn’t” – Boris Becker on the Spaniard’s championship drought following Wimbledon victory
Boris Becker believes Carlos Alcaraz’s apparent lack of improvement in comparison to his competition is a major factor in his championship drought since winning the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.
Alcaraz had a tremendous 2023 season, ending as the World No. 2 with six trophies, including his first Wimbledon victory. His outstanding victory over Novak Djokovic in the SW19 final hinted at a similarly bright second half of the season.
However, a string of poor performances stopped him from adding to his championship tally, forcing him to cede the year-end World No. 1 status to Djokovic. The Spaniard finished his season with a loss against the Serb in the ATP Finals semifinals.
Boris Becker gave his thoughts on the 20-year-old’s performance downturn. He underlined that after beating Djokovic, gaining the World No. 1 position, and winning his first Wimbledon title, the challenge will be maintaining that outstanding level over time.
“Why is that? Duelling with Djokovic, becoming No. 1 in the world and winning Wimbledon for the first time – maintaining this level is the most difficult thing in tennis. Anyone can have a good tournament or a good year from time to time, but maintaining that level over the years is the real challenge,” he said (via Eurosport).
Becker went on to say that although other players had improved and adapted to playing against the two-time Grand Slam champion, the Spaniard looked to have plateaued.
“In this context, my favorite saying is, ‘The locker room never sleeps.'” It signifies that the other players have realized how you must play against Alcaraz in order to have a chance. That’s exactly what occurred. Other players have progressed, but Alcaraz has not,” he continued.
“I’m convinced that we’ll see a very strong Carlos Alcaraz at Australian Open 2024”, Boris Becker
Boris Becker lauded Carlos Alcaraz’s explosive playing style while admitting that other players have worked out how to counter it. He was certain, however, that the Spaniard and his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, would work on incorporating new components into his game over the off-season.
“He keeps playing fantastic tennis.” I enjoy seeing him play at his best with his footwork, variety, serve, and forehand. However, the greatest players have evolved and know how to counteract this. “I’m confident that Alcaraz will work on something new or different with Juan Carlos Ferrero this winter and improve,” he stated.
The German stated that their objective would be to improve the two-time Grand Slam champion’s strengths and that he anticipated Alcaraz would compete well at the 2024 Australian Open.
“Their job is to help him improve his weaknesses.” And I’m confident we’ll see a very good Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open in 2024,” he continued.
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