Carlos Alcaraz did 'the hardest thing in tennis'

According to coaching guru Patrick Mouratoglou, Carlos Alcaraz has accomplished the most difficult task in tennis in 2024.

While Jannik Sinner will end the 2024 season as world number 1 in a year that saw him win the Australian Open and US Open titles, Alcaraz is entering the final weeks of the year with so much glory to look back on.

He has beaten Sinner in their three matches on the ATP Tour and has the chance to play in his first Olympics, where he won a gold medal in singles and played alongside the great Rafael Nadal in doubles.

Yet this year of tennis will be remembered for his two Grand Slam victories at the French Open and Wimbledon, when he found a way to crack the code of winning on such different surfaces in the space of a few short weeks.

Adapting your game from the high bounce and slow clay of Roland Garros to the smooth, low courts of Wimbledon is the ultimate test of a tennis player’s adaptability and Alcaraz has cracked the code impressively.

He defeated Sinner in the semi-final of the French Open before battling past Alexander Zverev in the Paris final before turning in a masterclass to dismantle seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic in a memorable Wimbledon final.

In an exclusive interview with Tennis365, the UTS Grand Final at the Copper Box Arena in London From December 6 to 8, Mouratoglou reflected on Alcaraz’s performance and suggested he had passed the biggest test in the sport by winning both major titles.

“I think what he did is probably the hardest thing to do in tennis, to win back to back two tournaments that are opposite in terms of the qualities to win them,” Mouratoglou told Tennis365.

“At Roland Garros you have to stand high on your legs, slide and use a lot to run longer rallies. Then go to Wimbledon, where you have to bring back large servers to the surface, which is of course better for counterpunchers or players who are much more aggressive with less spin.

“At Wimbledon you have to sit so low on the legs and not slide and wow, those two tournaments are so close in timing, to get those two back to back is probably one of the hardest things to do in tennis. ”

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Mouratoglou further suggested that Alcaraz’s shock early exit at the US Open was partly down to the success he enjoyed at the French Open, Wimbledon and his emotional journey at the Paris Olympics.

“He was exhausted, mentally exhausted. Two Grand Slam victories in a row. Can he rest then? No. The Olympic Games. Plus all the other tournaments it was too much,” Mouratoglou added.

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“It doesn’t surprise me that he says he had so many thoughts and emotions that he couldn’t deal with. That is exactly the result of someone who is emotionally exhausted.

“If you are not fresh here (the mind), it becomes more and more difficult to do it.

“He is very, very emotional. We’ve seen him get cramps many times. Looking at Roger, Rafa and Novak, have you ever seen them cramp in a match? Their entire career? He often got cramps, not until he was twenty. He is an emotional player.

“So I think, knowing that going forward, they’re going to have to come up with a calendar where he has adequate rest – mental rest, not physical rest. Mental peace. I think it’s very important for his future.

‘But we don’t have to worry about Alcaraz. Look what he has achieved at the age of 21. It’s amazing.

“What he has done is just unbelievable. It shows how much potential he has to win Grand Slams in the next ten years.”