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Retired Russian tennis player Nikolay Davydenko believes Carlos Alcaraz’s struggles during the tail end of the season may have something to do with his Spanish roots.
Spain has produced several legendary tennis players over the course of history, including former World No. 1s Rafael Nadal, Carlos Moya (Nadal's coach), and Juan Carlos Ferrero (Alcaraz's coach). Former tennis player Nikolay Davydenko, however, isn't impressed by the Spaniards' approach to tennis.
In a recent interview with Campionat, Davydenko called Carlos Alcaraz's dip in play during the final tournaments of 2023 “strange”. He suggested that the Spaniard is being taught to focus more on his physical fitness and temporary endurance rather than the technical aspects of the sport.
“For me, Alcaraz is very strange. Why is this happening? Because in the Spanish school of tennis there is very serious physical activity. They swing unrealistically, they have supernatural physical fitness,” the former World No. 3 said.
“They focus on this more than on tennis. For them, tennis is in the background. They say that first of all you need to run and not get tired, and then play on the other side of the court,” he continued.
Carlos Alcaraz dominated the tour during the initial months of 2023, despite missing the Australian Open due to injury. Producing some electrifying and fast-paced tennis, the Spaniard won six titles, including two Masters 1000s in Indian Wells and Madrid, and a second Grand Slam title at Wimbledon.
Alcaraz, however, witnessed a downward trend in his results after his SW19 triumph. He accumulated eight of his 12 losses in 2023 during the latter part of his campaign. The Spaniard failed to defend his US Open title, and did not reach a single final after his Cincinnati Masters final defeat to Novak Djokovic.
Alcaraz, who was in contention for the year-end World No. 1 ranking up until the ATP Finals, was eventually unsucessful in reclaiming the throne. He ended his season with a loss to World No. 1 Djokovic in the semifinals of the year-end championships.
"Carlos Alcaraz will shoot somewhere, but somewhere he may withdraw" – Nikolay Davydenko
In the aforementioned interview, Nikolay Davydenko opined that while the 20-year-old hasn’t experienced any serious injuries just yet, he may not be able to escape the effects of his grueling playing style in the long run.
“The body cannot withstand these overloads. Of course, at 20 years old it is too early to get your first injuries. Then others will appear - it goes in a chain. Therefore, he will shoot somewhere, but somewhere he may withdraw from the tournament because something happened,” the Russian said.
It is worth noting that Carlos Alcaraz experienced a similar downfall in 2022 as well. The Spaniard collected five of his 12 career titles that year, including a maiden Grand Slam at the US Open, but did not produce any significant results following the win in New York.
Alcaraz was eventually forced to conclude his season midway through his Paris Masters quarterfinal against Holger Rune, after suffering an abdominal injury.
