Carlos Alcaraz told to be ‘a little more selfish’ by former world No 1
Former world No 1 Andy Roddick has urged Carlos Alcaraz to be a “little more selfish” and prioritise himself over demands from events and sponsors.
World No 3 Alcaraz has already spent 36 weeks atop the ATP Rankings in his career and has won four Grand Slam singles titles across his career.
One of the sport’s biggest stars, the Spaniard will look to become the youngest man in the Open Era to complete the Career Grand Slam at the Australian Open next month.
Alcaraz’s preparation for the first Grand Slam of the year comes after a busy start to the off-season, playing exhibitions in New York and Charlotte, North Carolina at the start of December.
Earlier in the season, the 21-year-old also played the Laver Cup and Six Kings Slam outside of his ATP Tour events, contributing to a busy season for the Spaniard.
It is less than a month until action begins in Melbourne and, compared to chief rivals such as Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic, his off-season has been rather truncated.
Many have questioned why Alcaraz plays so many exhibitions despite criticising the demands of the ATP Tour schedule.
And, speaking on Served with Andy Roddick, former US Open winner Roddick claimed that Alcaraz is “going to have to learn to say no”.
“I think Carlos is fully aware of what he is today,” said Roddick.
“He is one of the biggest stars in world sport. Right now, he is the celebrity of celebrities wherever he goes.
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“I think people are eager to see him, and he is still at a stage where he does not want to disappoint anyone. It is a difficult situation but he is going to have to learn to say no.
“There are only three people – Federer, Nadal and Djokovic – who have had this level of fame. There is a magnetism about him that everyone appreciates. It is not often that you see this level of fame.
“He was probably exhausted and wanted to go home, but he does not say no to anyone. He has to be a little more selfish. I do not think he can be everything to everyone at the same time.”
Alcaraz will not play a warm-up event heading into the Australian Open, which begins on January 12th.
The Spaniard is currently set to be the third seed in Melbourne, behind Sinner and world No 2 Alexander Zverev, and will look to make it past the quarter-finals of the tournament for the first time.
If he won, he would break Rafael Nadal’s record of being the youngest man to complete the Career Grand Slam; the tennis great was 24 years old when he completed the set at the 2010 US Open.
Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, and Rod Laver are the only men to achieve the prestigious feat.
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