Andy Roddick’s ‘darkness’ and ‘personality’ Carlos Alcaraz theories are not as crazy as they might seem
Former world No 1 Andy Roddick has floated the theory that dark evenings may be a reason why Carlos Alcaraz struggles to find his best form at this phase of the tennis season and while that may seem like a slightly curious explanation for his dips in form, it is not without foundation.
Even though Alcaraz has already won six Grand Slam titles, he is still relatively new to the tennis world and that means we only have a limited body of work to consider for a Spaniard who is only 22 years old.
Yet a clear pattern has emerged at this phase of the that suggests either his motivation, his form on the indoor court surface he is playing on are not suiting his game.
Alcaraz lost two of his three matches at last year’s ATP Finals after he crashed out of the Paris Masters in the round of 16.
He lost his first match in Paris in 2023 and was not at his best at the ATP Finals after that and this year, he also slumped to an early exit in Paris, after losing against Britain’s Cameron Norrie.
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Speaking on the latest edition of his Served with Andy Roddick podcast, the former US Open champion threw up a theory that he believes may explain why Alcaraz’s dynamic performances for most of the year evaporate in the final weeks of the season.
“He is a guy who relies on electricity from the crowd, he likes the atmosphere, he likes the show, he likes being an entertainer,” said Roddick.
“Then you get to this part of the season where you are outside for four minutes of daylight every day. You are walking into the venue and it’s light and you are walking out of the venue and every place you are playing is dark at 4:15.
“It feels like Sinner is maybe better suited personality-wise to go in and get the job done and leave, whereas Carlos maybe needs to get inspired a little bit more. Maybe that’s a reach, I don’t know.
“Carlos has admittedly said I am beat up, I am mentally exhausted, it’s a long season. Whereas you are not hearing that as much from Sinner.
“Then people are like there’s a big difference between the two. But I’m going or one had three months off during the year.”
Roddick’s theory that Sinner’s calm and placid temperament is better suited to the contained arenas tennis played in at this time of the year may also carry some weight, with indoor tennis on temporary courts not conditions Alcaraz would have been used to growing up in Spain.
Alcaraz has produced some memorable performances on indoor courts and displays at the 2024 Laver Cup were an example of what he can produce on the surface.
Yet the player who will head into next week’s ATP Finals as the world No 1 once more has more than enough ability in his locker to flick and switch and find his best form in the most lucrative tournament of the ATP Tour season.
