Despite winning two grand slams this year, Carlos Alcaraz is said to be guilty of one big mistake.
A mistake that his rivals Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe are also allegedly making.
The American pair both suffered early exits to lower-ranked French opponents at the Paris Masters.
Shelton, fresh off a challenging final defeat in Basel to serving machine Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, was shocked by lucky loser Arthur Cazaux in straight sets.
Mpetshi Perricard ruined American aspirations once more, coming up against Tiafoe in the first round and stealing a deciding third set away.
While Carlos Alcaraz, the top seed, hasn’t endured such a bump so far, he is said to be guilty of making a fundamental technical mistake that may cost him.
Rennae Stubbs pinpoints major technical flaw from Carlos Alcaraz
The Spaniard is known for his all-court game and staggering range of shots. However, despite this, he has been included on Rennae Stubbs’ list of technically poor volleyers.
Starting with Shelton, the former doubles number one pinpointed the exact moment in the Basel Open final when the American’s technique betrayed him.
“Can we talk about the forehand volley that Ben Shelton missed in the tie break?” she said on her podcast. “I was like listen people, I have missed some forehand volleys – and it is the harder volley to make under pressure because with the backhand volley, for me anyway, you can use your body to hit a backhand volley a lot easier.
“He took the biggest swing in that swing and I thought his Dad, who was a great volleyer, must have been like what in the God forsaken is that? It was so bad and then it was over as the guy just went bang, bang. Two aces.”
“He does the same thing,” Stubbs continued, now referencing Tiafoe. “I want to just take Ben and Frances and be like guys, listen, I know you are a 10 billion times better tennis player than me but I can guarantee you that my volleys are better than yours. So let me show you how to hit a forehand volley.
“The way Frances does it, same with Ben, is that they get in trouble because they get all flicky with the wrist. You do not use your wrist, you use your body to hit volleys. You turn your shoulders and you literally can turn your shoulders and come back to the centre. You don’t take your racket head back! Both of them.”
Slightly surprisingly given his soft hands and sharp reflexes, Stubbs added: “And you know who else does it? He does get away with it but he does miss them from time to time is Alcaraz. He gets choppy, he chops down on it, which is why he hits that beautiful little drop volley.”
Stubbs, a six-time major doubles champion (two in mixed doubles), certainly knows a thing or two about good hands at the net.
Has the game evolved so much that volleying isn’t as important?
The art of the serve and volley has effectively been slowly pushed out of the game. Long gone are the days of John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova, scurrying to the net and eventually to the title.
Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray did feel like the last few in more recent times whose hands were so deft, they could approach the net whenever they liked.
Their baseline games were so good however that they no longer really had to.
New racquet technology has arguably forced players back away from the net, with the new lightweight frames far easier to hit passing shots with.
Allegedly poor volleys haven’t hindered Shelton or Tiafoe all that much, with both having made Grand Slam semi-finals before.
Maybe Stubbs is right though – With Shelton’s huge serve, the serve and volley could be a tidy addition to his game. It might develop the finesse needed to take him to the next level.
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