Andy Roddick has suggested that Carlos Alcaraz failing to deliver at the Laver Cup was an inevitable consequence after the Spaniard’s busy year. Alcaraz has enjoyed a stellar campaign, reaching three Grand Slam finals and prevailing at two of them. He came from two sets down to beat Jannik Sinner in one of the all-time classics at the French Open.
A few weeks later, he was defeated by the same opponent at Wimbledon before getting revenge at the US Open earlier this month. Alcaraz is also back at the summit of the ATP rankings, having regained top spot from his Italian rival, but was unable to inspire Team Europe to victory at the Laver Cup. They were beaten by Team World, who claimed the trophy for the third time on Sunday.
Reflecting on the result, Roddick claimed that something was always going to give with Alcaraz but praised him for showing up just weeks after his taxing US Open campaign.
“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,” said the American on his Served podcast.
“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.”
Alcaraz, meanwhile, raised concerns after the Laver Cup by admitting the pressure of being the world’s top-ranked player took its toll.
Speaking after his defeat to Taylor Fritz, he said: “When you are defending, when you are running on the court, it is really difficult to turn around the situations.
“It is really difficult when you are defending, turning to attack is really difficult because of the balls and the conditions that are really slow.
“As I said, Taylor was right. He was more aggressive than me. He did much better on the first shots than me, and I was running more than him. I think that was the key.
“I think the ranking is just a number. It shouldn’t give you the pressure that you have to win everything and every match. It’s just, okay, I’m there, but you still have to do the things that you were doing before.”
Alcaraz is expected to return to the court at the Japan Open, which begins later this week. He will go into the tournament as the favourite to snatch the honours away from defending champion Arthur Fils.
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