Carlos Alcaraz has come under some truly hilarious scrutiny in recent months for what is viewed as his waning form.
The 20-year-old has not reached a final since his marathon three-set loss to Novak Djokovic in Cincinnati, but remains the world number two by some distance.
His tough spell was only compounded by yesterday’s exit from the Buenos Aires Open, as he failed to defend his title after Nicolas Jarry knocked him out in the semi-finals.
But, BBC pundit and commentator Mark Petchey has sought to laugh off those doubters, speaking about the bright future of this young Spaniard…
What Mark Petchey said about Carlos Alcaraz
Given he already boasts two Grand Slam titles, it is laughable to think there are any doubters at all given what Alcaraz has accomplished at such a young age.
His maturity and the quality of his shot-making are unparalleled for anyone of his age, and the relentless wars he enjoys with Djokovic only detail that talent and capability to keep up with one of the greatest of all time.
Well, Petchey has now sought to detail how many more majors are in Alcaraz’s future, as he noted: ‘I mean, what was that, his 13th major or something (at the 2024 Australian Open), he’s already won two of them, and everyone’s already coming crashing down and saying, like, ‘he needs to do this’.
‘We live in an unnatural time, because we’ve had these three players that have won 20-plus majors and they have made sporting immortality, like normal.
‘So everybody else that’s coming in their shadow is getting judged on this ridiculous benchmark that they are never going to hit. Do I think Carlos is ever gonna hit 20 Grand Slams? I don’t, but will he win double digits? I think he will, pretty good career right?
‘I’ll rather be in Carlos’s shoes with a couple of majors under his belt than someone that hasn’t got it who is at the back end of their career, the epilogue of their career going, ‘am I ever gonna do it? I like his situation personally.’
Carlos Alcaraz will soon make the doubters look foolish
A lull in form this may be, there is little doubt that Alcaraz will soon come out the other side with a flourish. He is too good not to.
With an all-time career record boasting a 78.2% win rate, not far from the 82% that Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal finished around, there is a clear disparity between him and that elite trio.
That is, despite the latter admitting his compatriot is better than he was at his age.
However, they have also set an unnatural precedent, as Petchey notes, which makes the barrier to success unreasonably high.
For his age, what Alcaraz is already doing is sensational, and he is only going to get better.
He constantly goes deep in nearly every competition he enters, and is a threat to anyone he faces. His forehand is one of the best on tour at the moment when firing, and he already boasts two majors.
It will not take long for the youngster to come back to full form, and when he does, he will make everyone who ever doubted his talent eat their words.
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