Carlos Alcaraz praised for making ‘super smart’ decision ahead of his return to tennis
Carlos Alcaraz might not have won the US Open, but his return to tennis after four and a half months was far more successful than many expected.
The Spaniard breezed through to the quarter finals of the competition, dropping just one set in matches against Roman Safiullin, Jaime Faria, Wu Yibing, and Tommy Paul.
Ben Shelton was able to knock Alcaraz out of the US Open quarterfinals, but he needed five sets in what was one of the more dramatic matches at Flushing Meadows this year.
The immediate future looks bright for Alcaraz, although some have questioned his decision to play the Laver Cup rather than representing Spain at the Davis Cup.
Legendary tennis coach, Rick Macci, who coached Serena Williams, believes Alcaraz made the right decision, however, as playing the Davis Cup would have seen him have to return to clay court tennis.
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Writing on X, Macci said: “Carlos [is] super smart to play Laver Cup and not Davis Cup. No need to flip the script from hard to clay just to play.”
Spain had a difficult Davis Cup tie away from home against Chile, which was played on clay. They managed to win the tie without Alcaraz, with Rafael Jodar making his debut for his nation.
Macci believes that could be a masterstroke decision from Alcaraz, who is now set for a very busy period before the end of the 2026 campaign.
Alcaraz is set to play the Laver Cup, the Japan Open, the Shanghai Masters, the Six Kings Slam, the Paris Masters, the ATP Finals, and potentially the Davis Cup Finals, before the season ends in November.
“Remember for 139 days he was on the shelf to get better and feel like his old self,” continued Macci.
“The Spanish Magician and his team are the only ones who know what is best and sometimes it is more rest before another quick test because barring injury Carlos will someday be right there in slams with the best of the best.”
Alcaraz currently sits at world No 3 in the ATP Tour rankings ahead of the final stretch of the season. Outside of defending his Japan Open title in September, the star is now defending too many ranking points.
He did not play the Shanghai Masters last year and he suffered a second round exit at the Paris Masters, so he essentially has a free hit at the final two Masters tournaments on the ATP calendar.
Before then, he will appear at The O2 Arena in London for Team Europe as they take on Team World. The Laver Cup takes place between September 25th and 27th.
