Former Grand Slam semi-finalist praises Carlos Alcaraz for making a move ‘worth gold’ recently which has paid off immediately

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Carlos Alcaraz has enjoyed a strong start to his 2025 campaign, winning three titles, on two different surfaces.

The Spanish star won his first title of the year on indoor-hard courts in Rotterdam, where Alcaraz beat Alex de Minaur in February.

After struggling to match his results from previous years on North American hard courts, the world number two bounced back in the principality, as Alcaraz won the Monte-Carlo Masters, beating Lorenzo Musetti in the final.

After picking up an injury in Barcelona, Alcaraz withdrew from his home Madrid Open before returning to action in Rome.

Alcaraz took down Jannik Sinner in the Italian Open final to complete the set of Masters 1000 titles on clay, having now won all three.

Reacting to the 22-year-old’s latest win, one former WTA star has praised Alcaraz for making a ‘golden’ move recently.

Andrea Petkovic says Carlos Alcaraz’s decision to withdraw from Madrid was ‘worth gold’ in Rome

During the Becker Petkovic podcast, former French Open semi-finalist Andrea Petkovic shared her thoughts on a decision Alcaraz made recently, which she believes was a ‘step in the right direction’.

“What I wanted to say about Carlos [Alcaraz], because we have talked about it, Boris [Becker], you above all, that he has to be a little careful with his body, how he keeps up with his energy,” she said.

“I felt his move to withdraw from Madrid was the first step in the right direction.

“It was you who mentioned it last time, the documentary about Carlos Alcaraz, which was launched during the Madrid Open.

“Netflix has spent a lot of money on all the advertising banners, all the referee chairs, and has been playing the trailer of Carlos Alcaraz all the time.

“That he still pulls out and really shows the toughness, no, I’m hurt, no, I have something on my leg, I can’t play here at home now. I felt that was the first step in the right direction.”

Petkovic believes the move paid off immediately, as Alcaraz picked up his 19th tour-level title in Rome.

“What is, of course, worth gold for a player like Carlos is that it was rewarded a week later,” she said.

Petkovic’s co-host, Boris Becker, weighed in with his thoughts on Alcaraz’s withdrawal.

“I hope it was his decision that he didn’t play in Madrid, and of course, he asked his coach and his agent,” he said.

“I hope Carlos decided for himself, and he did everything right.”

Becker then shared whether he believed a title in Rome would’ve been more important for Alcaraz or Sinner.

“But all the more important was what happened in Rome,” he said.

“This victory was more important for Alcaraz than for [Jannik] Sinner.”

Carlos Alcaraz leads the field heading into the French Open

Five months into the 2025 season, no player has amassed more ATP points than Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz.

The four-time Major champion surpassed the 3,000 point mark with his win in Rome, and now leads his closest rival Sinner by over 1,000 points.

His tally of 3,740 points is also likely to already be enough to qualify him for the ATP Finals in Turin.

You’d have to travel back a decade to the 2015 edition of the tour finals to see 3,740 points fail to qualify a player.

It was Serbia’s Novak Djokovic who led the way in 2015, winning ten titles, collecting over 15,000 points.

Carrying that form through to the ATP Finals, Djokovic beat Roger Federer in the final to clinch his 11th title of the season.

It will be tough for Alcaraz to match Djokovic’s tally of 15,285 points, but he’ll certainly look to add another 2,000 to his total with a win in Paris.

The 2025 French Open is scheduled to begin on Sunday, May 25.