Carlos Alcaraz’s greatest quality highlighted by former British No 1
Carlos Alcaraz is defying all logic as he continues to set new standard at the age of 20 and there is little evidence that he will stop winning any time soon.
That’s the verdict of former British No 1 Laura Robson, who has told Tennis365 that world No 1 Alcaraz has served up levels of consistency that are not normal for a player of his youthful years.
The Spaniard already has two Grand Slam titles on his record, as well as Masters series wins and he also won the prestigious grass court title at The Queen’s Club back in June.
Yet as he prepares to defend his US Open crown, Robson told this website that it would not be a surprise to see Alcaraz suffer some expected defeats as he gets used to life as the player to beat on the ATP Tour.
“You think that surely it (setbacks) will happen at some point because he is so young, but at the same time it hasn’t really happened yet,” Robson told Tennis365 at a Play Your Way To Wimbledon event.
“The amazing thing is he has come back from Wimbledon and it still clearly means as much to him. He was battling away and was just so intense.
“That is what you want to see, but it is so hard to do given everything he has achieved in the last few months.
“I was commentating on his match the other day against Ben Shelton and they are both such similar ages, yet it feels like there is such a big gulf between them.
“Ben is talked about as the next big thing and on the other side of the net, we had the actual next big thing.”
Robson was speaking the day before Alcaraz suffered a surprise defeat when he lost against America’s Tommy Paul in the quarter-finals of the Toronto Masters.
He was honest enough to admit he was not at his best in Canada, as he vowed to improve ahead of the defence of his US Open title.
“I realise that I didn’t play well in these matches,” said Alcaraz, as he assessed his performances in Canada.
“All I can do is practice to be better. I have some weeks before the US Open.
“Now I have to be focused on Cincinnati. It’s a Masters 1000. It’s a big tournament as well. Obviously, I take a lot of lessons from this tournament.
“I think I did some things well, but probably everything can be better. I always say you can be better in everything even if you’ve played your best matches in your career.
“Right now, I have to improve a lot of things, getting more confidence in my game.”
Alcaraz could be set for a rematch with Paul in Cincinnati this week, with a third-round meeting against the player he lost to in Toronto a real possibility.
The Spaniard will need to make progress in Cincinnati to ensure he clings on to the world No 1 ranking, with a couple of wins ensuring he will hang onto the top spot heading into the US Open.
However, he may be dethroned from the top of the ATP rankings even if he has a long run at the US Open, as he has 2,000 points to defend from his title win at Flushing Meadows last year.
Djokovic will be in pole position to claim the prized world No 1 ranking if he makes it through to the second week in New York, as he has no ranking points to defend after missing the 2022 US Open due to his Covid vaccine status.
Play Your Way to Wimbledon, powered by Vodafone, is the UK’s largest individual mass participation tennis competition and is delivered by Vodafone in partnership with the LTA and The All England Lawn Tennis Club, forming part of the brand’s ongoing commitment to support grassroots tennis in the UK, whilst encouraging more people to pick up a racket.
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