Andy Roddick spotted an effective tactic used by Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final, especially in the first set.
The Spaniard outlasted Alexander Zverev in a thrilling five-set final to win the clay court Grand Slam for the first time in his career.
The 21-year-old also needed five sets to defeat Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals, meaning he is the first player to win a major following successive five setters in his final two matches since Roger Federer won the 2017 Australian Open.
Alcaraz’s third major win also means he has more Grand Slams than every player born in the 1990s combined, further highlighting his supreme abilities at such a young age.
What did Andy Roddick notice about Carlos Alcaraz’s game at the French Open?
Alcaraz took the lead in Sunday’s final by claiming the first set 6-3. Roddick was impressed with one of the serving tactics used by the former World number one to gain advantage, which he discussed during an episode of his ‘Served’ Podcast.
“The other thing that was phenomenal early on is that Zverev is a master at serving wide to create space on the next ball,” the American explained.
“Alcaraz, as soon as the toss went up in the first set, especially on the deuce side, was cheating over to cover forehand so he wasn’t leaning and chipping it.
“He was basically willing to give up the backhand side, because even if he is on defence after returning the first serve he was in the middle of the court.
“So he was cheating and stealing that wide serve, he was getting over there and taking full cuts on the forehand and having it loop up.”
What did Carlos Alcaraz do after winning the French Open?
After becoming the first man in history to win his first three Grand Slams on three different surfaces, Alcaraz took some time to celebrate his latest achievement.
He told Spanish journalists about the time he spent with his family and team after meaning his unbeaten record in Grand Slam finals.
“Yesterday, I celebrated with my family, with the people that came from Murcia, with my friends,” the World number two said on Monday.
“We went out to dinner and obviously I did everything I haven’t been doing during the tournament and ate what I hadn’t been eating.
“I’m normally careful with gluten, but I took my foot off the pedal and let myself go a little bit. Also, we had to celebrate with champagne, the time was right.m Then I left early and that was it. Today I’m on cloud nine.”
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