"Something has to give" - Andy Roddick shares blunt take on ‘unprepared’ Carlos Alcaraz's shock loss to Taylor Fritz at Laver Cup

Carlos Alcaraz was recently in action at the 2025 Laver Cup, where his 13-match long winning streak was put to an end by Taylor Fritz. Reflecting on the Spaniard’s shocking loss, Andy Roddick shared his blunt take on the matter, highlighting how a busy summer probably left the World No.1 ‘unprepared' prior to the competition.

Alcaraz has indeed had a busy few months. The 22-year-old began his clay court season this year at the Monte-Carlo Masters in April and since then he has reached eight back-to-back finals. Of these eight finals, he emerged victorious in six, including the French Open and US Open events.

Going into the Laver Cup, Carlos Alcaraz was the one spearheading Team Europe's quest for a second consecutive win. However, the World No.1 was outdone by Team World's Taylor Fritz on the second day of action in straight sets, in what turned out to be the tournament's biggest upset. Sharing his thoughts on Alcaraz's loss, Andy Roddick said in an episode of his 'Served' podcast,

“At some point, something has to give, and I think we have to give Carlos Alcaraz props because it would have been very easy to take the month and then finish the year. He actually showed up and played, even when he’s probably a little bit unprepared. There’s just no world where he should have been taxing himself physically or mentally post-US open. Like, there’s just not a world where that actually happens.”

For his part, Alcaraz admitted after his loss that the pressure of carrying Team Europe’s hopes got to him a little bit, while hailing Fritz as the better player of the day.

Carlos Alcaraz reflects on his Laver Cup outing

Alcaraz at the Laver Cup 2025 (Image Source: Getty)

The 2025 Laver Cup took place between September 19 and 21. Carlos Alcaraz and Team Europe got their campaign off to a strong start, winning three of four matches on the opening day. However, Team World went on to dominate day two, with Taylor Fritz beating Alcaraz, while Francisco Cerundolo and Alex de Minaur defeated Holger Rune and Alexander Zverev respectively. While Team Europe managed to stage a brief comeback on day three, Fritz ensured a victory for Team World after his win over Zverev.

Reflecting on Team Europe's outing at the Laver Cup, Alcaraz wrote on Instagram,

“We fought until the very end, but it wasn't meant to be! Congrats to Team World on winning the Laver Cup in San Francisco! Despite everything, it's been an amazing week together as a team!”

Up next, Carlos Alcaraz will return to action at the Japan Open tennis championships. The ATP 500 event is scheduled to take place between September 24 and 30.