Milos Raonic claims what he’s heard being said about Carlos Alcaraz is ‘the dumbest thing ever’

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Carlos Alcaraz is enjoying a strong start to his Italian Open campaign, with two straight-set victories under his belt already.

The Spaniard is playing his first tournament back since being sidelined with an adductor injury he suffered in Barcelona, which led to Alcaraz withdrawing from the Madrid Open.

Alcaraz has won two tournaments this year, triumphing in Rotterdam and at the Monte-Carlo Masters event, where he clinched his sixth ATP Masters 1000 title.

Though for most of the 22-year-old’s season, questions have been asked about his consistency levels, having crashed out in the early rounds of a number of events.

Amid his consistency struggles, tennis fans continue to draw parallels between the current Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner era and the ‘big three’ era of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, which former Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic thinks aren’t comparable.

Recently, Raonic said the ‘big three’ were further apart from the rest of the field than Alcaraz and Sinner are today.

However, the Canadian thinks there’s a negative narrative around Alcaraz at the moment, which is unwarranted.

Milos Raonic says people questioning Carlos Alcaraz is the ‘dumbest thing’

Speaking on the Changeover Podcast, Raonic said: “Alcaraz is kind of going through this moment where people are questioning him a little bit, which I think is the dumbest thing.”

“It’s just that he is going to go through that phase, where the first time he came around everything was an upside, everything was a surprise that he beats this person, there was not that pressure that you can’t lose to this person.”

The former world number three continued: “You kind of ride that wave, because those things don’t end in a moment.

“You get on a good run and that momentum lasts, but then you hit a wall and have to see what is the next thing.”

Carlos Alcaraz’s struggle for consistency in the 2025 ATP season

Alcaraz began the year at the Australian Open, where, after reaching the quarter-final, he was ultimately defeated by Novak Djokovic.

He bounced back immediately by winning the Rotterdam Open, but crashed out in the quarter-finals of the Qatar Open to Jiri Lehecka two weeks later.

Alcaraz had a good first half of the ‘sunshine double’, reaching the semi-final of Indian Wells, but lost in the second round of the Miami Open.

The four-time Grand Slam champion has had a strong clay season thus far, winning in Monte-Carlo and reaching the final in Barcelona, and will now look to add a maiden Italian Open title to his name.