Carlos Alcaraz did ‘the most difficult thing in tennis’ – Patrick Mouratoglou
Carlos Alcaraz pulled off the most difficult task in tennis in 2024, according to coaching guru Patrick Mouratoglou.
While Jannik Sinner is set to finish the 2024 season as the world No 1 in a year that saw him lift the Australian Open and US Open titles, Alcaraz is reaching the final weeks of the year with so much glory to look back on.
He has beaten Sinner in their three clashes on the ATP Tour and has the chance to play in his first Olympic Games, where he won a gold medal in singles and played alongside the great Rafael Nadal in doubles.
Yet this tennis year will be remembered for his two Grand Slam triumphs at the French Open and Wimbledon as he found a way to crack the code of winning on such different surfaces in the space of a few short weeks.
Adapting your game from the high-bouncing and slow clay at Roland Garros to the slick low-bounding courts at Wimbledon is the ultimate test of a tennis player’s adaptability and Alcaraz cracked the code in impressive fashion.
He beat Sinner in the French Open semi-finals before battling past Alexander Zverev in the Paris final before turning in a masterclass to dismantle seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic in a memorable Wimbledon final.
Speaking to Tennis365 in an exclusive interview the UTS Grand Final at London’s Copper Box Arena from December 6-8, Mouratoglou looked back on Alcaraz’s achievement and suggested he passed the biggest test in the sport by winning both major titles.
“I think what he did is probably the most difficult thing to do in tennis, to win back to back, two tournaments that are opposite in terms of qualities to win them,” Mouratoglou told Tennis365.
“At Roland Garros, you need to be high on your legs, sliding, using a lot to spin longer rallies. Then go to Wimbledon, where you have to return big servers on the surface that is, of course, better for counter punchers or players who are much more aggressive with less spin.
“At Wimbledon, you have to be so low on the legs and not slide and wow, those two tournaments are so close in terms of timing, to make those two back to back, is probably one of most difficult things to do in tennis.”
Mouratoglou went on to suggest Alcaraz’s shock early exit at the US Open was due, in part, to the success he enjoyed at the French Open, Wimbledon and his emotional journey at the Paris Olympics.
“He was exhausted, mentally exhausted. Two Grand Slam wins in a row. Then can he rest? No. The Olympic Games. Plus all the other tournaments, it was too much,” added Mouratoglou.
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“I am not surprised that he is saying that he had so many thoughts and so many emotions that he couldn’t deal with. That is exactly the consequence of someone who is emotionally drained.
“If you are not fresh here (the mind), it is more and more difficult to do it.
“He’s very, very emotional. We’ve seen him cramp many times already. If you look at Roger, Rafa, and Novak, have you seen them cramp once in a match? All their careers? He cramped many times already, only at 20. He’s an emotional player.
“So I think that knowing that, in the future, they will have to think of a calendar where he has enough rest – mental rest, not physical rest. Mental rest. I think it is very important for his future.
“But we don’t need to worry about Alcaraz. Look at what he has achieved at the age of 21. It’s amazing.
“What he has done is just incredible. It shows how much potential he has to be winning Grand Slams for the next ten years.”
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