Former German player Petkovic has recently spoken in the Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast. where she highlighted a flaw in Alcaraz’s game. The 37-year-old believes that the young Spaniard lack’s in having a plan B which will continue to cause him trouble going forward.
“The one quibble I have with Carlos is what the others don’t have,” said Petkovic on Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast. “Zverev doesn’t have [the issue], even Taylor [Fritz] doesn’t have, Jannik definitely doesn’t have, Novak [Djokovic] definitely doesn’t have. When Carlos is bad, he is f***ing horrendous.
“He doesn’t have a plan B – because you are still Carlos Alcaraz, who has won four Slams. But he then can’t make a ball anymore, he’s double-faulting, he’s missing, he doesn’t even get into a rally.
“So when Carlos is bad, he’s so bad. And at the highest level, he’s probably the best player.
“He was 3-0 against Jannik Sinner, who was the best player this season. At his low level, he can still lose to Jakub Mensik, and Jannik Sinner would not lose to Jakub Mensik probably.”
Alcaraz recently had a fabulous year at the highest level. It was the first time in his career that the reigning world number three won two Grand Slams in a calendar year. The 21-year-old first lifted the French Open after beating Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the final in a five-set thriller with a score of 6–3, 2–6, 5–7, 6–1, 6–2. He then lifted the Wimbledon title for the second time in two years after beating Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-2, 7-6.
Other than that, Alcaraz also won a silver medal for his country at the Paris Olympics. He narrowly missed out on winning gold for Spain after losing in the final of the singles category to Djokovic in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 7-6. The former world number one’s last title in 2024 was the China Open, where he defeated the number one-ranked player in the ATP rankings, Sinner, in the final with a score of 6-7, 6-4, 7-6.
