Carlos Alcaraz received a lot of praise in the early years of his career, having shown early on that he had the skills of a predestined and having won several prestigious titles when he was still very young.
The Spanish ace became the youngest No.1 in tennis history after winning the 2022 US Open and his rise has been truly disruptive, while his top rival Jannik Sinner took longer than expected to consecrate himself at the highest level.
In the last year, the situation has been reversed. Carlitos became the youngest player ever to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year, but Jannik’s consistency was so impressive that it created a huge gap between these two young champions in the ATP rankings.
Raonic warns Alcaraz
Due to the rise of Sinner – who became the undisputed No.1 on the men’s tour – Alcaraz began to face heavy criticism due to his frequent ups and downs throughout the season.
The 22-year-old from Murcia does not have the same regularity as the Italian ace, struggling to keep motivation high throughout the year and suffering several surprising defeats when he is not at the top of his form.
In a recent interview, former world number 3 Milos Raonic reflected on the criticism Carlos has suffered in recent times: “Alcaraz is going through a moment in his career where people question him a bit and criticize him more than they should, which is a stupid thing in my opinion. The period he is facing comes for everyone sooner or later. At the beginning everyone excites you and is surprised by your level, because there is no pressure on you and every victory takes on the connotations of a feat.
You feel like you’re unstoppable and your momentum lasts for some time, but then the situation changes. At some point you hit a wall and you have to figure out how to move forward.”
In recent weeks, the relationship between Alcaraz and Ferrero has also been the subject of discussion (especially after the official release of the documentary dedicated to the 4-time Grand Slam champion).
