Carlos Alcaraz has improved significantly in the last two years, according to former tennis player Andy Roddick.
The praise arrives shortly after Alcaraz won the Qatar Open, extending his record for the season to 12-0 after he clinched the Australian Open title.
Much to the delight of many within the sport, including Andy Murray, Roddick is set to join ESPN’s team of tennis analysts, with the American now sharing his expert insight on ATP number one Alcaraz.
How do you feel about Carlos Alcaraz’s dominance of men’s tennis right now?
Is it at risk of making the men's game boring?
Carlos Alcaraz told his serve and backhand consistency have really improved
Roddick said on his Served podcast: “We conflate being flashy with somehow you can’t be consistently also, but he is. That narrative is dead.
“If someone is talking about his lack of consistency they are just attached to what the conversation was 18 months ago. He is just dominant.
“I don’t know I could beat anyone in this studio 2 and 1 in 50 minutes and he is doing it to the best players in the world. It’s just phenomenal.
“How you defend against someone on a full stretch on a backhand side, hitting an up the line drop shot perfectly, you can’t really solve for that.
“You have to cover so many different pockets of earth on court with Carlos. He is serving unbelievably. His serve is much better than it was two years ago.
“His backhand consistency is much better than it was two years ago. His ability to basically be able to get in, if you hit a heavy ball to him. He is still able to get in off of it, which has to be depressing.
“If he is in full flight, unless you are someone like Jannik [Sinner] who can beat him to the punch sometimes, I don’t know what you do.”
Will Carlos Alcaraz win the Calendar Slam in 2026?
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How does Carlos Alcaraz’s 2024 serving compare to now?
Clearly, Alcaraz is the dominant force in men’s tennis at this moment in time, having started the 2026 season in stunning fashion.
Ruthless serving helped Alcaraz beat Arthur Fils in the final of the Qatar Open, an area that the Spaniard has seemingly been working very hard on.
Of course, it is impossible to fully compare his 2024 and 2026 seasons right now considering he has only played 12 matches this year, but the ATP stats do offer an early insight into his efforts.
| 2024 | 2026 | |
| 265 | Aces | 73 |
| 119 | Double faults | 23 |
| 65% | 1st serve | 68% |
| 73% | 1st serve points won | 74% |
| 57% | 2nd serve points won | 59% |
| 270 | Break points faced | 57 |
| 62% | Break points saved | 72% |
| 709 | Service games played | 174 |
| 85% | Service games won | 91% |
| 68% | Total service points won | 70% |
He also committed just nine unforced errors in that Doha final, from which he emerged victorious after just 50 minutes.
Just as he did after winning the Australian Open, the 22-year-old is now taking a well-earned break after Qatar, with Alcaraz next playing at Indian Wells in March.
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