Carlos Alcaraz’s Rotterdam hopes candidly assessed as concerns outlined by former star

Ewan West 05 Feb 2025 5:30 PM

Carlos Alcaraz in action

Former world No 17 Nicolas Escude has warned Carlos Alcaraz he “will have to correct a lot of things” if he is to have a chance of winning the 2025 Rotterdam Open.

Alcaraz battled to a 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-1 win over world No 84 Botic van de Zandschulp in the opening round of the ATP 500 event.

The Spaniard, who is playing in Rotterdam for the first time, gained revenge for his upset loss to the 29-year-old Dutchman in the second round of last year’s US Open.

The world No 3 had to recover from 3-5 down and save a set point before taking the opening set on a tiebreak.

Alcaraz then lost the second set, but he responded strongly in the third by breaking twice en route to sealing a tough victory.

The 21-year-old, who has won 16 tournaments including four majors, is vying to win his maiden indoor title in Rotterdam. He is yet to reach a final at an event on indoor hard courts.

Speaking on Eurosport France, Escude was critical of Alcaraz’s performance and argued the top seed will have to improve considerably to make a deep run in the Netherlands.

“Carlos will have to correct a lot of things if he wants to go far in this tournament and he won’t have much time because he will quickly have high-level opponents,” the Frenchman said.

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“Before, in one shot, Carlos could put his opponent three meters away without him being able to react. This is no longer the case.

“Tonight, he made too many forehand errors again. On a lot of sequences, he played while being static while he is very effective when he is moving. So there are still adjustments to be made, that’s obvious.”

After the match, Alcaraz gave his thoughts on competing in Rotterdam for the first time.

“It’s been great,” he said. “Today I faced a Dutch player, so I knew that the crowd would support him and would be with him most of the time.

“I’m happy to have seen Spanish people and to have received some support as well. I’m happy to live this experience and receive the affection of the public. I hope to receive that support in the next rounds.”

On van de Zandschulp, Alcaraz added: “I think he’s a very complete player. He’s very fast, he has very good shots, he’s very good physically. He’s very dangerous.

“You never know what he can surprise you with: he’s capable of hitting incredible shots, and that’s what makes him so dangerous.

“In the matches I’ve played against him, he’s shown a great level of tennis, but I’m glad to see that, that these types of players have to show their best version if they want to beat me.”

Alcaraz will face 317th-ranked Italian qualifier Andrea Vavassori in the second round.