Andy Roddick reveals whether Carlos Alcaraz is more similar to Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal on grass
Former US Open winner Andy Roddick has broken down why he thinks Carlos Alcaraz’s grass-court game is more similar to that of Roger Federer than Rafael Nadal.
Alcaraz won his fourth grass title at the Queen’s Club Championships last week, where he defeated Jiri Lehecka in the championship match.
The Spaniard’s run at the ATP 500 tournament extended his winning streak on grass to 12 matches and improved his career record on the surface.
The 22-year-old’s 90.6% win rate on grass is the highest of any male player who has won at least 20 matches on the surface in the Open Era.
Alcaraz, the world No 2, is a strong favourite to win a third consecutive Wimbledon title at this year’s edition of The Championships, which begin on Monday June 30. He overcame seven-time Wimbledon winner Novak Djokovic in his two finals at the All England Club.
Speaking on his Served with Andy Roddick podcast, Roddick analysed Alcaraz’s suitability to grass as he compared him to Federer — the Wimbledon men’s singles title record holder.
“The lines that he takes from the back [of the court] are never wrong. If he wants to cut one off, it’s Roger-esque,” said the former world No 1 and three-time Wimbledon finalist.
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“Roger on his forehand never took a bad angle or a bad line — to the ball, in stride — he’s able to read the pacing, adjust his footwork, and then either transition off the forehand in, or not.
“Even Rafa had to work and be a little bit more intentional about it than Carlos going from clay to grass. On clay, you have to take different angles to the ball, right?
“He reads all of that in half a second, and he is so good about his angles to the ball. You never really see that awkward grass-court out of position that you see with the rest of us chuckers, right?”
Alcaraz, who won his fifth Grand Slam title at the French Open earlier this month, will face Fabio Fognini in his opening match at Wimbledon.
The Spaniard has a favourable-looking path to the title, with Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Jack Draper all in the opposite half of the draw.
He arrives at the grass-court major having won 18 successive matches in a run that started with his triumph at the Italian Open in May.
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