After Carlos Alcaraz was criticized for his aggressive style of play after losing the Australian Open, former tennis legend Tim Henman said that we should be careful what we wish for.
Legendary tennis player Mats Wilander also said Alcaraz’s strategy lost him the match against Alexander Zverev, comparing his stroke selection to that of Nick Kyrgios.
After putting on a messy show for the majority of the first three sets, Zverev overcame Alcaraz in four sets last week in the 2024 Australian Open quarterfinals. Alcaraz has come under fire for continuing to use his extremely aggressive strategies when he was misfiring for significant portions of the match.
Wilander expressed his concerns about Alcaraz’s shot selection and said: “The first few points in the match are what worry most people. You can’t do that when you play against Alexander Zverev. You can do that when you play against Rafa or Novak, where you have a chance to break and give yourself some time, but when you’re playing a guy like that, the first two points of your service game are huge because if they go up a break, that’s it, done.”
He further said: “In the Wimbledon final against Djokovic, he started serving for the match with a drop shot, lost it, and then hit another drop shot, winning that to hold serve. Do we want him, as a fan, to change that? It’s the same as Nick Kyrgios. I’d like to see him win majors, but do I want him to hit tweeners? I’m not sure. Alcaraz is sort of similar.”
However, Henman expressed his opinion that it might be a mistake for Alcaraz to give up on the approach that has already helped him achieve great success.
Henman replied to Wilander and said: “We need to be careful of what we wish for.”
Carlos Alcaraz in 2024
Now the world no.2, Alcaraz played his last match on the 24th of January when he capitulated to world no.6 Alexander Zverev 6-1 6-3 6-7(2) 6-4 in the quarter of the Australian Open (draw).
At the moment, during this season Carlos has managed to achieve a compiled 4-1 win-loss record.
Alcaraz is scheduled to compete next in Buenos Aires (Argentina Open). He will start from the main draw that will commence on the 12th of February.
Nick Kyrgios in 2024
Ranked world no.470, the Australian played his last match on the 13th of June 2023 when he surrendered to world no.118 Yibing Wu 7-5 6-3 in the 1st round in Stuttgart (draw).
This year Nick has achieved a composed 0-1 record.
Carlos Alcaraz and Nick Kyrgios have never squared off.