Carlos Alcaraz is in an intriguing position after his relatively disappointing Sunshine Double.
Alcaraz was unbeaten this year when heading into Indian Wells, but this came to an end when he lost to Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals.
The world number one was looking to bounce straight back with a title in Miami, but Alcaraz suffered a surprise defeat to Sebastian Korda in only his second match at the tournament.
With Jannik Sinner winning the Miami Open, Alcaraz’s place at the top of the ATP rankings is now under threat and former world number one Andy Roddick has raised an interesting point about the Spaniard.
Andy Roddick says Carlos Alcaraz and Juan Carlos Ferrero could have been ‘very different’
Alcaraz announced his shock split from Juan Carlos Ferrero in December, bringing an end to their seven-year collaboration.
There was understandably a lot of uncertainty around how Alcaraz would perform without Ferrero, but after he won the Australian Open this talk disappeared.
How would you feel if Juan Carlos Ferrero returned to coach Carlos Alcaraz now?
When speaking on his ‘Served with Andy Roddick‘ podcast, Roddick suggested that the conversation around Alcaraz would be very different now if he did not win that Australian Open title.
“Carlos wins in Australia and full credit,” said Roddick. “He was the best player in the tournament by far. But also we don’t care, really about Indian Wells and Miami and what happened to him at those tournaments.
“But if he doesn’t win Australia on the heels of Ferrero and then this happens, it’s a very different conversation if he loses one match in Australia.
“He didn’t but it’s like the what if game never ends and he won there, but it’s something to keep an eye on. Is your coach there for your best tennis or is your coach there for your valleys and raising the floor?”
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Carlos Alcaraz’s schedule for the clay court season
Alcaraz now turns his attention to the clay court season, where he faces a lot of pressure after his dominant run during this same period last year.
The 22-year-old will be defending 4,330 points, which is more than anyone else on the ATP Tour, during the clay court season.
Alcaraz will begin his clay court season at the Monte Carlo Masters, where he is the defending champion, and risks losing his status as world number one.
If Sinner wins the Monte Carlo Masters then he is confirmed to overtake Alcaraz at the top of the ATP rankings.
| Carlos Alcaraz’s clay court schedule | Points he is defending from 2025 |
| Monte Carlo Masters | 1000 (W) |
| Barcelona Open | 330 (F) |
| Madrid Open | 0 (Did not play) |
| Italian Open | 1000 (W) |
| Roland Garros | 2000 (W) |
While this puts pressure on Alcaraz, there are less threats in the draw for him now after Novak Djokovic, Taylor Fritz, Korda and Jack Draper all withdrew from the Monte Carlo Masters.
The main draw of the Monte Carlo Masters begins on Sunday, April 5.
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