2 days Ago By Yasmin Syed
Carlos Alcaraz has been warned that he will never get rid of his “inconsistency” issues. The world No. 3 has suffered disappointing defeats at his last three tournaments and retired legend Mats Wilander believes Alcaraz’s frustrating dips in form will continue in the long term.
Alcaraz was dumped out in the opening round of the recent Miami Open and he will now attempt to turn things around at next week’s Monte-Carlo Masters, where he has surprisingly never won a match. The 21-year-old was full of confidence when he picked up his 17th career title at the Rotterdam Open in February. But Alcaraz has since struggled to rediscover his best form.
At his next event, the Qatar Open, Alcaraz blew a 4-2 lead in the final set of his quarter-final match against Jiri Lehecka and lost the last four games in a row. The Spaniard headed to Indian Wells - where he was the two-time defending champion - and lost a tumultuous semi-final match to Jack Draper 6-1 0-6 6-4, his first defeat at the tournament since 2022. Things went from bad to worse in Miami, where he lost his opening match to David Goffin.
At the age of 21, it’s not surprising that Alcaraz sometimes loses his concentration and suffers unexpected defeats. But former world No. 1 Wilander believes his inconsistency will become a long-term concern.
“I think Carlos Alcaraz is going through what Carlos Alcaraz will be going through for the rest of his career, which is that there are going to be inconsistencies,” Wilander told TNT Sports . “He's going to pull off some miracles at times, and then those miracles are going to help him win matches, and he's going to pull off miracles at different times, and he's not going to win the match in the end.” The seven-time Grand Slam champion still agrees that some of Alcaraz’s losses have been tough to defend but he is still backing the world No.
3 to bounce back and lift more big titles. Wilander continued: “But obviously, if you lose the result against Jack Draper , the way that it happened is very weird for a top player. “But I do think in the end, Carlos Alcaraz is going to be quite inconsistent in terms of results.
We're so used to not seeing a former world No. 1 and most probably a future world No. 1 to be that inconsistent.
“He can bounce back at any time. That's the thing about Carlos Alcaraz . He could bounce back within two weeks because of the way he plays tennis.
“Even though he won the French Open last year, I'm not sure clay is his best surface, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if he goes and wins the French Open again, and does a repeat, because that's the quality that he brings. “I'm just saying that I think these results will happen here and there. Unfortunately, they have been happening in some Grand Slam tournaments.
” Alcaraz will now look ahead to the clay season, where he is defending his French Open crown. He will start the swing at the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he has never won a match. The Spaniard’s only appearance in Monaco came in 2022 when he got a bye to the second round and lost to Sebastian Korda.
He has not played in the tournament since. But it could be the clean slate he needs to forget about his recent hard-court losses. He turned up at the tournament venue last year to practice but pulled out at the 11th hour with a forearm injury.
But the silver lining in Alcaraz’s early Miami Open exit means he has had more time to rest and prepare for the first event of the clay season..
