According to former French Open champion Michael Chang, Carlos Alcaraz continues to keep smiling, even when he experiences losses and that’s difficult.
Chang was recently questioned in an interview regarding Alcaraz’s play style and court abilities. He expressed his remarks about Alcaraz and said: “When I see Carlos play, I tend to think that he is not the typical Spaniard. For me, it’s as if a new generation of Spanish players has emerged because the ones I competed against had great groundstrokes, moved very well, and hit you with a lot of topspin balls and occasionally with sliced balls; for example, the Sánchez Vicario brothers used the slice a lot. Now, however, it’s different. You just have to see how Alcaraz attacks the net and how athletic he is.”
He was further asked about Alcaraz’s gameplay, like that of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, to which Chang replied: “Even he says it himself: ‘I have learned a lot from watching Rafa, Novak and Roger play’. And he’s right. You can see very clearly that he has learned a lot from watching those guys, and everything he has seen of them he has incorporated into his game. So it’s fun to see him on the court and it will be great to see how his tennis evolves in the coming years when everything is going to be different because we’re seeing a new batch of players come through.”
Chang claims that Alcaraz never stops smiling, even when he loses, and that’s hard. Chang described a precious attribute of Alcaraz on the court and said: “You know, one of the things I appreciate about Carlos is that he can go out there and act like a great champion; that is to say, he is capable of hitting all kinds of big shots. Furthermore, even if you don’t know him at all as a person, after the game, you can say hello and you will find a guy with a smile, whether he won or lost. Regardless of what has happened, he signs autographs or takes photos with the same attitude as always, and, honestly, I don’t think that’s easy at all because great champions tend to focus on their own thing. I have always seen him with a smile on his face, however, and I think that’s great not only for himself but for all tennis fans.”
Alcaraz at the French Open, ranking, and results in 2024
Now ranked no.3, the Spaniard has managed to achieve a compiled 24-5 record in 2024. Alcaraz is now having a run at the French Open where he conquered the world no.107 Jeff Wolf 6-1 6-2 6-1, the world no.176 Jesper De Jong 6-3 6-4 2-6 6-2, the world no.28 Sebastian Korda 6-4 7-65 6-3, the world no.21 Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3 6-3 6-1, the world no.9 Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 7-63 6-4 and the world no.2 Jannik Sinner 2-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 6-3.
Carlos Alcaraz will take on the world no.4 Alexander Zverev in the final. Their actual head to head record is 7-4 for Zverev.
Alcaraz has won 1 title in 2024 in Indian Wells.
Carlos won 14 titles in his career: 4 on hard courts, 7 on clay courts, 1 on indoor courts and 2 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)