What Carlos Alcaraz should change to keep winning

• Carlos Alcaraz can improve his game by not opening doors for opponents
• His coach Juan Carlos Ferrero thinks so
• He also says the Spaniard needs to rest more

Carlos Alcaraz can improve his game by not opening doors for opponents in matches and improving his decision-making, according to his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero

The former world No 1 made the assessment in an interview with Spanish newspaper Marca. He also addressed Alcaraz’s physical conditioning and preparation for the 2024 Australian Open.

Ferrero said that Alcaraz should learn from his mistakes this season as he fights to rule tennis starting 2024.

Carlos Alcaraz 2024 Season

One of the biggest errors the Spaniard makes is letting emotions take over and this opens a gateway for his opponents to get into his head.

“Be more regular in games, not open doors. Sometimes there are mistakes and it is something that we have to improve a lot. Although it is true that he opens doors, he always competes well and at the highest level,” Ferrero said.

Carlos Alcaraz during Wimbledon. [Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images]

“He knows it, the other day he already said that Novak doesn’t give you one. He has to improve his decision making and he will achieve that with experience. Carlos is very emotional and that sometimes helps him and other times not so much,” he stated.

Despite the areas for improvement, Ferrero was pleased with Alcaraz’s progress in 2023, which included winning six ATP titles and reaching the semi-finals of the ATP Finals.

“I think he had a very good year, with a lot of positive things. He won in Indian Wells and Madrid, which are two very important Masters 1000 tournaments. He also won Wimbledon, which is his second Grand Slam title. And he reached the semi-finals of the ATP Finals, which is a very good result for his first year.”

What Will Carlos Alcaraz Focus on?

Looking ahead to 2024, Ferrero said that Alcaraz will need to focus on his physical conditioning and preparation for the Australian Open, which he missed in 2023 due to injury.

The coach added that, due to the challenges of the 2023 season, it resulted to fatigue, and Alcaraz now requires at least a week to rest and rejuvenate.

After this rejuvenation period, the focus should shift towards intense and effective training ahead of the Australian Open in 2024.

Ferrero also addressed the fact that Alcaraz will not be playing any ATP tournaments in the lead-up to the Australian Open.

“One can never be sure of that. Sometimes you play a tournament and it doesn’t go well, you left home too early. There are many ways of thinking. This year we haven’t played Australia and he finishes number two. That means there is no urgency to play a tournament early,” Ferrero said.

Juan Carlos Ferrer, Carlos Alcaraz’s coach. Photo/Tennis Majors

“Carlos is a player who enters competition quickly, you don’t usually see him without rhythm. Although it is true that he becomes more dangerous from the round of 16, from the quarter-finals. I am confident that the two exhibition matches and the training sessions will help us play a good tournament.”

Alcaraz is expected to play two exhibition matches in December before heading to Australia for the 2024 Australian Open, which begins on January 15.

Nothing piques tennis fans’ interest more than a meeting between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, but the Spaniard claims he is more afraid of facing Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev.

Despite the fact that Djokovic is the current 24-time Grand Slam champion, Alcaraz is not afraid to take him on when the chance presents itself.  At the French Open semifinal, Alcaraz played Djokovic for the first time this year and was defeated.

Resurfacing at the age of twenty, he defeated Djokovic in the Wimbledon finals to win his second Grand Slam.

Even though Djokovic is known for being a tough tennis player, Alcaraz gets nightmares when he plays Medvedev and Sinner.

Medvedev stunned the world by defeating Alcaraz in the 2023 US Open semifinals. He revealed the secret to beating the Spaniard and dashed tennis fans’ dreams of seeing another Djokovic vs. Alcaraz match.