Carlos Alcaraz told to walk away from big pay days after shock Miami Open defeat
The fall-out from Carlos Alcaraz’s shock early exit at the Miami Open is continuing to ripple through tennis and now former British No 1 Greg Rusedski has given his candid verdict, as he suggested the world No 1 needs to manage his schedule better.
Alcaraz admitted he was growing tired of having a target on his back after his defeat in the Indian Wells Masters against Daniil Medvedev and he appeared to be relishing the chance to have some time away from tennis after his loss against Sebastian Korda in Miami.
His former coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero spoke publicly about his belief that Alcaraz needed to be less extravagant with his mid-season breaks away with his friends to Ibiza, while there have also been claims that the exhibition events the Spaniard signs up for could be avoided.
Alcaraz’s big rival Jannik Sinner does not take part in as many exhibitions and he also manages his time away from the sport in a more traditional manner, with Rusedski now joining the chorus suggesting the reigning Australian Open champion may need to tweak his set-up.
Speaking on the latest edition of his podcast, the 1997 US Open champion insisted he had ‘no concerns’ over Alcaraz despite his defeats in Indian Wells and Miami, but he did offer some candid advice on how he could bolster his hopes of more glory on the court.
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“It looks like he’s enjoying his social life a little bit much. You’ve got to rest, you’ve got to recover,” said Rusedski.
“He’s a young man, so he wants to live his life as well, but it’s getting that balance. And I think that’s one of the reasons probably Juan Carlos Ferraro and he parted ways was he wanted more discipline, more rest, more recuperation,”
“Those areas we talked about the money previously. I think he’s got to get the balance. Maybe play a little bit less. Cancel a few of those exhibitions. I mean, you got enough cash.
“Find periods where you can just get away, enjoy yourself because he’s played an awful lot of tennis. And when you play too much tennis, you get bored, you get overload, and it’s difficult to sustain this high level.
“Despite all of that, I’m not worried about him at all. He’ll be back.”
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Rusedski went on to claim Sinner will fancy hius chances of knocking Alcaraz off the top of the ATP Rankings, as he continues to trim the huge lead that had opened up between the duo after the Spaniard won the Australian Open in January.
“If I’m Jannick Sinner, I’m thinking, hey, No 1 in the world looking good again,” he added. “He’ll be thinking, I’ve got a shot here, especially if he does the Sunshine Double [Indian Wells and Miami Masters], which I predict he is going to do.”
Alcaraz has yet to confirm where he will start his clay court campaign, but it would be a surprise if he didn’t play in Monte-Carlo, where he will be defending 1,000 ranking points from his win in that tournament last year.
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