Samu Lopez has found one thing particularly strange about Carlos Alcaraz’s Australian Open campaign thus far.
However, that has not dented his confidence in his player.
It has been a stunning first tournament of the year for the young Spaniard, under the guidance of a new head coach following his split from Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Many questioned how he might react to such a huge change, but a best-ever run at the Australian Open this year has put those fears to bed.
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It is the strength of this showing over the last week and a half that has provoked Lopez to brand such performances surprisingly strange.
Samu Lopez discusses Carlos Alcaraz’s Australian Open campaign so far
In what has been a flawless tournament for Carlos Alcaraz thus far, his next opponent should pose his toughest threat yet based on the seedings.
However, Lopez is unsurprisingly confident of his player’s chances against Alexander Zverev.
He told reporters: “We are seeing as the days go by that he is gaining more confidence and rhythm. This is the first competition of the year for him: in this case, a Grand Slam. This doesn’t happen the rest of the year because he usually competes beforehand. I think we’ve arrived at a good moment to face Zverev.”
“I see Carlos doing well and mentally prepared. You have to accept when things go wrong and stay focused on your game.
“The other day he wore the Brazil shirt: ‘Jugar bonito’ (play beautiful), put on a show. If you have a good attitude and accept things, it will eventually come out because he’s in a moment where the tennis just flows.
“Zverev is very complicated, and how he serves will dictate a lot. It will be a beautiful battle.”
Carlos Alcaraz’s run to the Australian Open semi-finals
As noted earlier, this already has been the best Australian Open campaign of Alcaraz’s career thus far, having bypassed his previous best run to the quarter-finals.
He began this year with a clash against Adam Walton, and was unconvincing as he beat him and Yannick Hanfmann to reach the third round.
However, having slowly worked his way into form, we saw glimpses of the best Alcaraz had to offer against Corentin Moutet, who was well beaten in their third-round match.
The 22-year-old was then tasked with his toughest match yet, but made light work of Tommy Paul, again winning without dropping a set.
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Alcaraz then beat Alex de Minaur in the quarter-finals, in what was a supremely professional showing against the hometown hero.
He will hope to translate that fine form into tomorrow’s semi-final match vs Zverev.
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